Antenna using horn structure and electronic device including the same

ABSTRACT

An electronic device in provided, including an antenna using a horn structure capable of using at least a portion of a metal member as a signal waveguide structure of the antenna. The device includes a housing, a display, a printed circuit board, and at least one wireless communication circuit, where a waveguide hole is provided to connect at least a portion of a through hole and an electronic component and is used as an operating channel of the electronic component together with the waveguide hole.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of prior application Ser.No. 17/464,120, filed on Sep. 1, 2021, which application is acontinuation application of prior application Ser. No. 16/686,687, filedon Nov. 18, 2019, which has issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,202,365 on Dec.14, 2021 and is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) ofa Korean patent application number 10-2018-0142304, filed on Nov. 19,2018, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The disclosure relates to an antenna using a horn structure and anelectronic device including the same.

2. Description of Related Art

With the development of wireless communication technology, electronicdevices (e.g., communication electronic devices) are commonly used indaily life; thus, use of contents is increasing exponentially. Becauseof such rapid increase in the use of contents, a network capacity isreaching its limit. After commercialization of 4th generation (4G)communication systems, in order to meet growing wireless data trafficdemand, a communication system (e.g., 5th generation (5G) or pre-5Gcommunication system, or new radio (NR))) that transmits and/or receivessignals using a frequency of a high frequency (e.g., millimeter wave(mmWave)) band (e.g., 3 GHz to 300 GHz band) is being studied.

Next generation wireless communication technology may transmit andreceive signals using a frequency in a range of substantially 3 GHz to100 GHz, and an efficient mounting structure for overcoming a high freespace loss because of frequency characteristics and increasing a gain ofan antenna and a new antenna structure corresponding thereto are beingdeveloped.

In recent years, electronic devices are becoming slimmer and may includeat least partially a metal member (e.g., conductive member) for thepurpose of rigid reinforcement and aesthetic design. In order to form abeam pattern direction of an antenna, a metal member may be excluded inthe beam pattern direction or the beam pattern direction may be changedto avoid the metal member.

The above information is presented as background information only, andto assist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination hasbeen made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentionedproblems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantagesdescribed below Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to providean antenna using a horn structure and an electronic device including thesame.

Another aspect of the disclosure is to provide an antenna using a hornstructure and an electronic device including the same capable of usingat least a portion of a metal member as a signal waveguide structure ofan antenna.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the presented embodiments.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, an electronic device isprovided. The electronic device includes a housing including a firstplate, a second plate facing in a direction opposite to that of thefirst plate, and a side member configured to enclose a space between thefirst plate and the second plate and connected to the second plate orformed integrally with the second plate and including a conductivematerial.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a first portion ofthe side member includes a first surface facing outside the housing, asecond surface facing in a direction opposite to that of the firstsurface, and a through hole formed between the first surface and thesecond surface.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the through holeincludes a first opening formed on the first surface and having a firstsize when viewed from the outside of the housing, a second openingformed on the second surface, having a second size smaller than thefirst size when viewed from the outside of the housing, and at leastpartially overlapped with the first opening, and a channel formedbetween the first opening and the second opening.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the housing furtherincludes a first non-conductive material inserted into the through hole.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the electronicdevice includes a display visible through at least a portion of thefirst plate, a printed circuit board disposed inside the housing so asto face the first portion, wherein the printed circuit board includes athird surface facing the second surface, a fourth surface facing in adirection opposite to that of the third surface, a first conductivelayer disposed closer to the third surface rather than the fourthsurface, wherein the first conductive layer includes a first areaincluding a slot and facing the second opening, and a second area formedat a periphery of the first area, a second conductive layer disposedcloser to the fourth surface rather than the first conductive layer, anda conductive line overlapped with at least a portion of the second areawhen viewed from above the first conductive layer and disposed betweenthe first conductive layer and the second conductive layer, and aprinted circuit board configured to enclose at least a portion of thesecond area and including a plurality of conductive vias configured toelectrically connect the first conductive layer and the secondconductive layer.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the electronicdevice includes at least one wireless communication circuit electricallyconnected to the conductive line and configured to transmit and/orreceive a signal having a frequency between 3 GHz and 100 GHz.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, an electronicdevice is provided. The electronic device includes a housing including afirst plate, a second plate facing in a direction opposite to that ofthe first plate, and a side member configured to enclose a space betweenthe first plate and the second plate and connected to the second plateor formed integrally with the second plate and including a conductivematerial.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a first portion ofthe side member includes a first surface facing outside the housing, asecond surface facing in a direction opposite to that of the firstsurface, and a through hole formed between the first surface and thesecond surface.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the through holeincludes a first opening formed on the first surface and having a firstsize when viewed from the outside of the housing, a second openingformed on the second surface, having a second size smaller than thefirst size when viewed from the outside of the housing, and at leastpartially overlapped with the first opening, and a channel formedbetween the first opening and the second opening.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the housingincludes a first non-conductive material inserted into the through hole.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the electronicdevice includes a display visible through at least a portion of thefirst plate, a structure disposed inside the housing so as to face thefirst portion, wherein the structure includes a first area disposed toface the second opening, a second area including a plurality ofconductive vias formed at a periphery of the first area, and aconductive line disposed in the second area.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the electronicdevice includes at least one wireless communication circuit electricallyconnected to the conductive line and configured to transmit and/orreceive a signal having a frequency between 3 GHz and 100 GHz.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, an electronicdevice is provided. The electronic device includes a housing including afirst plate, a second plate facing in a direction opposite to that ofthe first plate, and a side member configured to enclose a space betweenthe first plate and the second plate and connected to the second plateor formed integrally with the second plate and including a conductivematerial.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a first portion ofthe side member includes a first surface facing outside the housing, asecond surface facing in a direction opposite to that of the firstsurface, a through hole formed between the first surface and the secondsurface.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the through holeincludes a first opening formed on the first surface and having a firstsize when viewed from the outside of the housing, a second openingformed on the second surface, having a second size smaller than thefirst size when viewed from the outside of the housing, and at leastpartially overlapped with the first opening, and a channel formedbetween the first opening and the second opening.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the housing furtherincludes a first non-conductive material inserted into the through hole.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the electronicdevice includes a display visible through at least a portion of thefirst plate, a printed circuit board disposed inside the housing so asto face the first portion, wherein the printed circuit board includes athird surface facing in the same direction as that of the first plate, afourth surface facing in a direction opposite to that of the thirdsurface, a substrate side surface configured to enclose a space betweenthe third surface and the fourth surface and including a first areafacing the second opening, a first conductive layer disposed closer tothe third surface rather than the fourth surface and including a secondarea formed at the third surface adjacent to the substrate side surface,a second conductive layer disposed closer to the fourth surface ratherthan the first conductive layer, and a conductive line overlapped withat least a portion of the second area and disposed between the firstconductive layer and the second conductive layer, when viewed from abovethe first conductive layer, wherein the printed circuit board isconfigured to enclose at least a portion of the second area and includesa plurality of conductive vias configured to electrically connect thefirst conductive layer and the second conductive layer.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the electronicdevice includes at least one wireless communication circuit electricallyconnected to the conductive line and configured to transmit and/orreceive a signal having a frequency between 3 GHz and 100 GHz.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device in a networkenvironment according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device forsupporting legacy network communication and 5G network communicationaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view illustrating a mobile electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view illustrating a rear surface of a mobileelectronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3C is an exploded perspective view illustrating a mobile electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a structure of athird antenna module described with reference to FIG. 2 according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view illustrating the third antenna moduletaken along line Y-Y′ of FIG. 4A according to an embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a separated state of an antenna moduleaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a coupled state of an antenna moduleaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, 6F, 6G and 6H are cross-sectional viewsillustrating various shapes of a through hole viewed from line A-A′ ofFIG. 5A according to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 7A is a perspective view illustrating a printed circuit board(e.g., structure) according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a stacked structure of aprinted circuit board viewed from line B-B′ of FIG. 7A according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a coupled state of anantenna module according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are graphs illustrating bandwidths according toimpedance characteristics and gain characteristics of the antenna moduleof FIG. 8 according to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 9C is a diagram illustrating a radiation pattern of the antennamodule of FIG. 8 according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a printed circuit boardaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an antenna module inwhich a printed circuit board viewed from line C-C′ of FIG. 10 isdisposed at a side member according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating impedance characteristics of theantenna module of FIG. 11 according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating a separated state of an antennamodule according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating a coupled state of an antenna moduleaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating a printed circuit boardaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an antenna module inwhich a printed circuit board viewed from line D-D′ of FIG. 14 isdisposed at a side member according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a graph illustrating gain characteristics of the antennamodule of FIG. 15 according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a graph illustrating impedance bandwidth characteristicsaccording to a distance change from a plurality of conductive vias to aside member of the antenna module of FIG. 15 according to an embodimentof the disclosure;

FIGS. 18A, 18B and 18C are cross-sectional views illustrating maincomponents of a disposition configuration of an antenna module in anelectronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIGS. 19A, 19B and 19C are diagrams illustrating a dispositionconfiguration in which an antenna module is disposed at a side memberaccording to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view illustrating main components in astate in which an antenna module is disposed in an electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a position change of a through hole ina side member according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a radiation pattern of an antennamodule according to a position change of the through hole of FIG. 21according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a through hole array disposed at aside member of an electronic device according to an embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 24A is a perspective view illustrating a printed circuit board inan array feeding structure disposed to correspond to the through holearray of FIG. 23 according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 24B is a diagram illustrating a disposition of the array feedingstructure of FIG. 24A according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 25A and 25B are diagrams illustrating beam scanning performancesand radiation patterns according to phase differences of an antennamodule formed with the side member of FIG. 23 and the printed circuitboard of FIG. 24 according to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a through hole disposedat a side member of an electronic device according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a curved edge of a through holedisposed at a side member according to an embodiment of the disclosure;and

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating an impedance characteristic of anantenna module operating through the through hole of FIG. 27 accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thedisclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions andconstructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of thedisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of thedisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims andtheir equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic device in a network environmentaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1 , an electronic device 101 in a network environment100 may communicate with an electronic device 102 via a first network198 (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or anelectronic device 104 or a server 108 via a second network 199 (e.g., along-range wireless communication network). The electronic device 101may communicate with the electronic device 104 via the server 108. Theelectronic device 101 includes a processor 120, memory 130, an inputdevice 150, an audio output device 155, a display device 160, an audiomodule 170, a sensor module 176, an interface 177, a haptic module 179,a camera module 180, a power management module 188, a battery 189, acommunication module 190, a subscriber identification module (SIM) 196,or an antenna module 197. In some embodiments, at least one (e.g., thedisplay device 160 or the camera module 180) of the components may beomitted from the electronic device 101, or one or more other componentsmay be added in the electronic device 101. In some embodiments, some ofthe components may be implemented as single integrated circuitry. Forexample, the sensor module 176 (e.g., a fingerprint sensor, an irissensor, or an illuminance sensor) may be implemented as embedded in thedisplay device 160 (e.g., a display).

The processor 120 may execute, for example, software (e.g., a program140) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware orsoftware component) of the electronic device 101 coupled with theprocessor 120, and may perform various data processing or computation.As at least part of the data processing or computation, the processor120 may load a command or data received from another component (e.g.,the sensor module 176 or the communication module 190) in volatilememory 132, process the command or the data stored in the volatilememory 132, and store resulting data in non-volatile memory 134. Theprocessor 120 may include a main processor 121 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP)), and anauxiliary processor 123 (e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU), animage signal processor (ISP), a sensor hub processor, or a communicationprocessor (CP)) that is operable independently from, or in conjunctionwith, the main processor 121. Additionally or alternatively, theauxiliary processor 123 may be adapted to consume less power than themain processor 121, or to be specific to a specified function. Theauxiliary processor 123 may be implemented as separate from, or as partof the main processor 121.

The auxiliary processor 123 may control at least some of functions orstates related to at least one component (e.g., the display device 160,the sensor module 176, or the communication module 190) among thecomponents of the electronic device 101, instead of the main processor121 while the main processor 121 is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state,or together with the main processor 121 while the main processor 121 isin an active state (e.g., executing an application). The auxiliaryprocessor 123 (e.g., an ISP or a CP) may be implemented as part ofanother component (e.g., the camera module 180 or the communicationmodule 190) functionally related to the auxiliary processor 123.

The memory 130 may store various data used by at least one component(e.g., the processor 120 or the sensor module 176) of the electronicdevice 101. The various data may include, for example, software (e.g.,the program 140) and input data or output data for a command relatedthereto. The memory 130 may include the volatile memory 132 or thenon-volatile memory 134. The non-volatile memory 134 may include aninternal memory 136 or external memory 138.

The program 140 may be stored in the memory 130 as software, and mayinclude, for example, an operating system (OS) 142, middleware 144, oran application 146.

The input device 150 may receive a command or data to be used by othercomponent (e.g., the processor 120) of the electronic device 101, fromthe outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device 101. The inputdevice 150 may include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard,or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen).

The audio output device 155 may output sound signals to the outside ofthe electronic device 101. The audio output device 155 may include, forexample, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used for generalpurposes, such as playing multimedia or playing record, and the receivermay be used for an incoming call. The receiver may be implemented asseparate from, or as part of the speaker.

The display device 160 may visually provide information to the outside(e.g., a user) of the electronic device 101. The display device 160 mayinclude, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector andcontrol circuitry to control a corresponding one of the display,hologram device, and projector. The display device 160 may include touchcircuitry adapted to detect a touch, or sensor circuitry (e.g., apressure sensor) adapted to measure the intensity of force incurred bythe touch.

The audio module 170 may convert a sound into an electrical signal andvice versa. The audio module 170 may obtain the sound via the inputdevice 150, or output the sound via the audio output device 155 or aheadphone of an external electronic device (e.g., an electronic device102) directly (e.g., wiredly) or wirelessly coupled with the electronicdevice 101.

The sensor module 176 may detect an operational state (e.g., power ortemperature) of the electronic device 101 or an environmental state(e.g., a state of a user) external to the electronic device 101, andthen generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to thedetected state. The sensor module 176 may include, for example, agesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, amagnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximitysensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric sensor, atemperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor.

The interface 177 may support one or more specified protocols to be usedfor the electronic device 101 to be coupled with the external electronicdevice (e.g., the electronic device 102) directly (e.g., wiredly) orwirelessly. The interface 177 may include, for example, a highdefinition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus (USB)interface, a secure digital (SD) card interface, or an audio interface.

A connection terminal 178 may include a connector via which theelectronic device 101 may be physically connected with the externalelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102). The connectionterminal 178 may include, for example, a HDMI connector, a USBconnector, a SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphoneconnector).

The haptic module 179 may convert an electrical signal into a mechanicalstimulus (e.g., a vibration or a movement) or electrical stimulus whichmay be recognized by a user via his tactile sensation or kinestheticsensation. The haptic module 179 may include, for example, a motor, apiezoelectric element, or an electric stimulator.

The camera module 180 may capture an image or moving images. The cameramodule 180 may include one or more lenses, image sensors, image signalprocessors, or flashes.

The power management module 188 may manage power supplied to theelectronic device 101. The power management module 188 may beimplemented as at least part of, for example, a power managementintegrated circuit (PMIC).

The battery 189 may supply power to at least one component of theelectronic device 101. The battery 189 may include, for example, aprimary cell which is not rechargeable, a secondary cell which isrechargeable, or a fuel cell.

The communication module 190 may support establishing a direct (e.g.,wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel betweenthe electronic device 101 and the external electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 102, the electronic device 104, or the server 108) andperforming communication via the established communication channel. Thecommunication module 190 may include one or more communicationprocessors that are operable independently from the processor 120 (e.g.,the AP) and supports a direct (e.g., wired) communication or a wirelesscommunication. The communication module 190 may include a wirelesscommunication module 192 (e.g., a cellular communication module, ashort-range wireless communication module, or a global navigationsatellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communicationmodule 194 (e.g., a local area network (LAN) communication module or apower line communication (PLC) module). A corresponding one of thesecommunication modules may communicate with the external electronicdevice via the first network 198 (e.g., a short-range communicationnetwork, such as BluetoothTM, wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) direct, orinfrared data association (IrDA)) or the second network 199 (e.g., along-range communication network, such as a cellular network, theInternet, or a computer network (e.g., LAN or wide area network (WAN)).These various types of communication modules may be implemented as asingle component (e.g., a single chip), or may be implemented as multicomponents (e.g., multi chips) separate from each other. The wirelesscommunication module 192 may identify and authenticate the electronicdevice 101 in a communication network, such as the first network 198 orthe second network 199, using subscriber information (e.g.,international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)) stored in the SIM 196.

The antenna module 197 may transmit or receive a signal or power to orfrom the outside (e.g., the external electronic device) of theelectronic device 101. The antenna module 197 may include an antennaincluding a radiating element composed of a conductive material or aconductive pattern formed in or on a substrate (e.g., a printed circuitboard (PCB)). The antenna module 197 may include a plurality ofantennas. In such a case, at least one antenna appropriate for acommunication scheme used in the communication network, such as thefirst network 198 or the second network 199, may be selected, forexample, by the communication module 190 (e.g., the wirelesscommunication module 192) from the plurality of antennas. The signal orthe power may then be transmitted or received between the communicationmodule 190 and the external electronic device via the selected at leastone antenna. Another component (e.g., a radio frequency integratedcircuit (RFIC)) other than the radiating element may be additionallyformed as part of the antenna module 197.

At least some of the above-described components may be coupled mutuallyand communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) therebetween via aninter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., a bus, general purposeinput and output (GPIO), serial peripheral interface (SPI), or mobileindustry processor interface (MIPI)).

Commands or data may be transmitted or received between the electronicdevice 101 and the external electronic device 104 via the server 108coupled with the second network 199. Each of the electronic devices 102and 104 may be a device of a same type as, or a different type, from theelectronic device 101. All or some of operations to be executed at theelectronic device 101 may be executed at one or more of the externalelectronic devices 102, 104, or 108. For example, if the electronicdevice 101 should perform a function or a service automatically, or inresponse to a request from a user or another device, the electronicdevice 101, instead of, or in addition to, executing the function or theservice, may request the one or more external electronic devices toperform at least part of the function or the service. The one or moreexternal electronic devices receiving the request may perform the atleast part of the function or the service requested, or an additionalfunction or an additional service related to the request, and transferan outcome of the performing to the electronic device 101. Theelectronic device 101 may provide the outcome, with or without furtherprocessing of the outcome, as at least part of a reply to the request.To that end, a cloud computing, distributed computing, or client-servercomputing technology may be used, for example.

An electronic device according to an embodiment may be one of varioustypes of electronic devices. The electronic device may include aportable communication device (e.g., a smart phone), a computer device,a portable multimedia device, a portable medical device, a camera, awearable device, or a home appliance. However, the electronic device isnot limited to any of those described above.

Various embodiments of the disclosure and the terms used herein are notintended to limit the technological features set forth herein toparticular embodiments and include various changes, equivalents, orreplacements for a corresponding embodiment.

With regard to the description of the drawings, similar referencenumerals may be used to refer to similar or related elements.

A singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one ormore of the things, unless the relevant context clearly indicatesotherwise. As used herein, each of such phrases as “A or B”, “at leastone of A and B”, “at least one of A or B”, “A, B, or C”, “at least oneof A, B, and C”, and “at least one of A, B, or C” may include any oneof, or all possible combinations of the items enumerated together in acorresponding one of the phrases.

As used herein, such terms as “1st” and “2nd”, or “first” and “second”may be used to simply distinguish a corresponding component fromanother, and does not limit the components in other aspect (e.g.,importance or order). If an element (e.g., a first element) is referredto, with or without the term “operatively” or “communicatively”, as“coupled with”, “coupled to”, “connected with”, or “connected to”another element (e.g., a second element), it means that the element maybe coupled with the other element directly (e.g., wiredly), wirelessly,or via a third element.

The term “module” may include a unit implemented in hardware, software,or firmware, and may interchangeably be used with other terms, forexample, “logic”, “logic block”, “part”, or “circuitry”. A module may bea single integral component, or a minimum unit or part thereof, adaptedto perform one or more functions. For example, according to anembodiment, the module may be implemented in a form of anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software(e.g., the program 140) including one or more instructions that arestored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory 136 or external memory138) that is readable by a machine (e.g., the electronic device 101).For example, a processor (e.g., the processor 120) of the machine (e.g.,the electronic device 101) may invoke at least one of the one or moreinstructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it, with orwithout using one or more other components under the control of theprocessor. This allows the machine to be operated to perform at leastone function according to the at least one instruction invoked. The oneor more instructions may include a code generated by a complier or acode executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage mediummay be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Wherein,the term “non-transitory” simply means that the storage medium is atangible device, and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagneticwave), but this term does not differentiate between where data issemi-permanently stored in the storage medium and where the data istemporarily stored in the storage medium.

A method according to an embodiment of the disclosure may be includedand provided in a computer program product. The computer program productmay be traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computerprogram product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readablestorage medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or bedistributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) online via an applicationstore (e.g., PlayStoreTM), or between two user devices (e.g., smartphones) directly. If distributed online, at least part of the computerprogram product may be temporarily generated or at least temporarilystored in the machine-readable storage medium, such as memory of themanufacturer's server, a server of the application store, or a relayserver.

Each component (e.g., a module or a program) of the above-describedcomponents may include a single entity or multiple entities. One or moreof the above-described components may be omitted, or one or more othercomponents may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality ofcomponents (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a singlecomponent. In such a case, the integrated component may perform one ormore functions of each of the plurality of components in the same orsimilar manner as they are performed by a corresponding one of theplurality of components before the integration. Operations performed bythe module, the program, or another component may be carried outsequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or moreof the operations may be executed in a different order or omitted, orone or more other operations may be added.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device in a networkenvironment including a plurality of cellular networks according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the electronic device 101 in a network environment200 may include a first communication processor 212, secondcommunication processor 214, first RFIC 222, second RFIC 224, third RFIC226, fourth RFIC 228, first radio frequency front end (RFFE) 232, secondRFFE 234, first antenna module 242, second antenna module 244, andantenna 248. The electronic device 101 may include the processor 120 andthe memory 130. A second network 199 may include a first cellularnetwork 292 and a second cellular network 294. According to anotherembodiment, the electronic device 101 may further include at least oneof the components described with reference to FIG. 1 , and the secondnetwork 199 may further include at least one other network. According toone embodiment, the first communication processor 212, secondcommunication processor 214, first RFIC 222, second RFIC 224, fourthRFIC 228, first RFFE 232, and second RFFE 234 may form at least part ofthe wireless communication module 192. According to another embodiment,the fourth RFIC 228 may be omitted or included as part of the third RFIC226.

The first communication processor 212 may establish a communicationchannel of a band to be used for wireless communication with the firstcellular network 292 and support legacy network communication throughthe established communication channel. According to various embodiments,the first cellular network may be a legacy network including a secondgeneration (2G), 3G, 4G, or long term evolution (LTE) network. Thesecond communication processor 214 may establish a communication channelcorresponding to a designated band (e.g., about 6 GHz to about 60 GHz)of bands to be used for wireless communication with the second cellularnetwork 294, and support 5G network communication through theestablished communication channel. According to various embodiments, thesecond cellular network 294 may be a 5G network defined in 3GPP.Additionally, according to an embodiment, the first communicationprocessor 212 or the second communication processor 214 may establish acommunication channel corresponding to another designated band (e.g.,about 6 GHz or less) of bands to be used for wireless communication withthe second cellular network 294 and support 5G network communicationthrough the established communication channel. According to oneembodiment, the first communication processor 212 and the secondcommunication processor 214 may be implemented in a single chip or asingle package. According to various embodiments, the firstcommunication processor 212 or the second communication processor 214may be formed in a single chip or a single package with the processor120, the auxiliary processor 123, or the communication module 190.

Upon transmission, the first RFIC 222 may convert a baseband signalgenerated by the first communication processor 212 to a radio frequency(RF) signal of about 700 MHz to about 3 GHz used in the first cellularnetwork 292 (e.g., legacy network). Upon reception, an RF signal may beobtained from the first cellular network 292 (e.g., legacy network)through an antenna (e.g., the first antenna module 242) and bepreprocessed through an RFFE (e.g., the first RFFE 232). The first RFIC222 may convert the preprocessed RF signal to a baseband signal so as tobe processed by the first communication processor 212.

Upon transmission, the second RFIC 224 may convert a baseband signalgenerated by the first communication processor 212 or the secondcommunication processor 214 to an RF signal (hereinafter, 5G Sub6 RFsignal) of a Sub6 band (e.g., 6 GHz or less) to be used in the secondcellular network 294 (e.g., 5G network). Upon reception, a 5G Sub6 RFsignal may be obtained from the second cellular network 294 (e.g., 5Gnetwork) through an antenna (e.g., the second antenna module 244) and bepretreated through an RFFE (e.g., the second RFFE 234). The second RFIC224 may convert the preprocessed 5G Sub6 RF signal to a baseband signalso as to be processed by a corresponding communication processor of thefirst communication processor 212 or the second communication processor214.

The third RFIC 226 may convert a baseband signal generated by the secondcommunication processor 214 to an RF signal (hereinafter, 5G Above6 RFsignal) of a 5G Above6 band (e.g., about 6 GHz to about 60 GHz) to beused in the second cellular network 294 (e.g., 5G network). Uponreception, a 5G Above6 RF signal may be obtained from the secondcellular network 294 (e.g., 5G network) through an antenna (e.g., theantenna 248) and be preprocessed through a third RFFE 236. The thirdRFIC 226 may convert the preprocessed 5G Above6 RF signal to a basebandsignal so as to be processed by the second communication processor 214.According to one embodiment, the third RFFE 236 may be formed as part ofthe third RFIC 226.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may include afourth RFIC 228 separately from the third RFIC 226 or as at least partof the third RFIC 226. In this case, the fourth RFIC 228 may convert abaseband signal generated by the second communication processor 214 toan RF signal (hereinafter, an intermediate frequency (IF) signal) of anintermediate frequency band (e.g., about 9 GHz to about 11 GHz) andtransfer the IF signal to the third RFIC 226. The third RFIC 226 mayconvert the IF signal to a 5G Above 6RF signal. Upon reception, the 5GAbove 6RF signal may be received from the second cellular network 294(e.g., a 5G network) through an antenna (e.g., the antenna 248) and beconverted to an IF signal by the third RFIC 226. The fourth RFIC 228 mayconvert an IF signal to a baseband signal so as to be processed by thesecond communication processor 214.

According to one embodiment, the first RFIC 222 and the second RFIC 224may be implemented into at least part of a single package or a singlechip. According to one embodiment, the first RFFE 232 and the secondRFFE 234 may be implemented into at least part of a single package or asingle chip. According to one embodiment, at least one of the firstantenna module 242 or the second antenna module 244 may be omitted ormay be combined with another antenna module to process RF signals of acorresponding plurality of bands.

According to one embodiment, the third RFIC 226 and the antenna 248 maybe disposed at the same substrate to form a third antenna module 246.For example, the wireless communication module 192 or the processor 120may be disposed at a first substrate (e.g., main PCB). In this case, thethird RFIC 226 is disposed in a partial area (e.g., lower surface) ofthe first substrate and a separate second substrate (e.g., sub PCB), andthe antenna 248 is disposed in another partial area (e.g., uppersurface) thereof; thus, the third antenna module 246 may be formed. Bydisposing the third RFIC 226 and the antenna 248 in the same substrate,a length of a transmission line therebetween can be reduced. This mayreduce, for example, a loss (e.g., attenuation) of a signal of a highfrequency band (e.g., about 6 GHz to about 60 GHz) to be used in 5Gnetwork communication by a transmission line. Therefore, the electronicdevice 101 may improve a quality or speed of communication with thesecond cellular network 294 (e.g., 5G network).

According to one embodiment, the antenna 248 may be formed in an antennaarray including a plurality of antenna elements that may be used forbeamforming. In this case, the third RFIC 226 may include a plurality ofphase shifters 238 corresponding to a plurality of antenna elements, forexample, as part of the third RFFE 236. Upon transmission, each of theplurality of phase shifters 238 may convert a phase of a 5G Above6 RFsignal to be transmitted to the outside (e.g., a base station of a 5Gnetwork) of the electronic device 101 through a corresponding antennaelement. Upon reception, each of the plurality of phase shifters 238 mayconvert a phase of the 5G Above6 RF signal received from the outside tothe same phase or substantially the same phase through a correspondingantenna element. This enables transmission or reception throughbeamforming between the electronic device 101 and the outside.

The second cellular network 294 (e.g., 5G network) may operate (e.g.,stand-alone (SA)) independently of the first cellular network 292 (e.g.,legacy network) or may be operated (e.g., non-stand alone (NSA)) inconnection with the first cellular network 292. For example, the 5Gnetwork may have only an access network (e.g., 5G radio access network(RAN) or a next generation (NG) RAN and have no core network (e.g., nextgeneration core (NGC)). In this case, after accessing to the accessnetwork of the 5G network, the electronic device 101 may access to anexternal network (e.g., Internet) under the control of a core network(e.g., an evolved packed core (EPC)) of the legacy network. Protocolinformation (e.g., LTE protocol information) for communication with alegacy network or protocol information (e.g., new radio (NR) protocolinformation) for communication with a 5G network may be stored in thememory 130 to be accessed by other components (e.g., the processor 120,the first communication processor 212, or the second communicationprocessor 214).

FIG. 3A is a front perspective view illustrating a mobile electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3B is a rear perspective view illustrating a mobile electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, a mobile electronic device 300 (e.g., theelectronic device 101 of FIG. 1 ) according to various embodiments mayinclude a housing 310 including a first surface (or front surface) 310A,a second surface (or rear surface) 310B, and a side surface 310Cenclosing a space between the first surface 310A and the second surface310B. In one embodiment (not illustrated), the housing may refer to astructure forming some of the first surface 310A, the second surface310B, and the side surface 310C. According to one embodiment, the firstsurface 310A may be formed by an at least partially substantiallytransparent front plate 302 (e.g., a polymer plate or a glass plateincluding various coating layers). The second surface 310B may be formedby a substantially opaque rear plate 311. The rear plate 311 may beformed by, for example, coated or colored glass, ceramic, polymer, metal(e.g., aluminum, stainless steel (STS), or magnesium), or a combinationof at least two of the above materials. The side surface 310C may becoupled to the front plate 302 and the rear plate 311 and be formed by aside bezel structure (or “side member”) 318 including a metal and/or apolymer. In some embodiments, the rear plate 311 and the side bezelstructure 318 may be integrally formed and include the same material(e.g., metal material such as aluminum).

In the illustrated embodiment, the front plate 302 may include two firstregions 310D bent and extended seamlessly from the first surface 310Atoward the rear plate 311 at both ends of a long edge of the front plate302. In the illustrated embodiment (see FIG. 3B), the rear plate 311 mayinclude two second regions 310E bent and extended seamlessly from thesecond surface 310B towards the front plate 302 at both ends of a longedge. In some embodiments, the front plate 302 (or the rear plate 311)may include only one of the first regions 310D (or the second regions310E). In one embodiment, a portion of the first regions 310D or thesecond regions 310E may not be included. In the above embodiments, whenviewed from the side surface of the mobile electronic device 300, theside bezel structure 318 may have a first thickness (or width) at a sidesurface in which the first region 310D or the second region 310E is notincluded and have a second thickness smaller than the first thickness ata side surface including the first region 310D or the second region310E.

According to one embodiment, the mobile electronic device 300 mayinclude at least one of a display 301; audio modules 303, 307, and 314;sensor modules 304, 316, and 319; camera modules 305, 312, and 313; keyinput device 317; light emitting element 306; and connector holes 308and 309. In some embodiments, the mobile electronic device 300 may omitat least one (e.g., the key input device 317 or the light emittingelement 306) of the components or may further include other components.

The display 301 may be exposed through, for example, a substantialportion of the front plate 302. In some embodiments, at least part ofthe display 301 may be exposed through the front plate 302 forming thefirst region 310D of the side surface 310C and the first surface 310A.In some embodiments, an edge of the display 301 may be formed to besubstantially the same as an adjacent outer edge shape of the frontplate 302. In one embodiment (not illustrated), in order to enlarge anarea where the display 301 is exposed, a distance between an outer edgeof the display 301 and an outer edge of the front plate 302 may beformed to be substantially the same.

In an embodiment (not illustrated), in a portion of a screen displayarea of the display 301, a recess or an opening may be formed, and atleast one of the audio module 314 and the sensor module 304, the cameramodule 305, and the light emitting element 306 aligned with the recessor the opening may be included. In one embodiment (not illustrated), ata rear surface of a screen display area of the display 301, at least oneof the audio module 314, the sensor module 304, the camera module 305,the fingerprint sensor module 316, and the light emitting element 306may be included. In one embodiment (not illustrated), the display 301may be coupled to or disposed adjacent to a touch detection circuit, apressure sensor capable of measuring intensity (pressure) of the touch,and/or a digitizer for detecting a stylus pen of a magnetic fieldmethod. In some embodiments, at least part of the sensor modules 304 and319 and/or at least part of the key input device 317 may be disposed ina first region 310D and/or a second region 310E.

The audio modules 303, 307, and 314 may include a microphone hole 303and speaker holes 307 and 314. The microphone hole 303 may dispose amicrophone for obtaining an external sound therein; and, in someembodiments, a plurality of microphones may be disposed to detect adirection of a sound. The speaker holes 307 and 314 may include anexternal speaker hole 307 and a call receiver hole 314. In someembodiments, the speaker holes 307 and 314 and the microphone hole 303may be implemented into one hole, or the speaker may be included withoutthe speaker holes 307 and 314 (e.g., piezo speaker).

The sensor modules 304, 316, and 319 may generate an electrical signalor a data value corresponding to an operating state inside the mobileelectronic device 300 or an environment state outside the mobileelectronic device 300. The sensor modules 304, 316, and 319 may include,for example, a first sensor module 304 (e.g., proximity sensor) and/or asecond sensor module (not illustrated) (e.g., fingerprint sensor),disposed at the first surface 310A of the housing 310, and/or a thirdsensor module 319 (e.g., a heart rate monitor (FIRM) sensor) and/or afourth sensor module 316 (e.g., fingerprint sensor), disposed at thesecond surface 310B of the housing 310. The fingerprint sensor may bedisposed at the second surface 310B as well as the first surface 310A(e.g., the display 301) of the housing 310. The mobile electronic device300 may further include a sensor module (not illustrated), for example,at least one of a gesture sensor, gyro sensor, air pressure sensor,magnetic sensor, acceleration sensor, grip sensor, color sensor, IRsensor, biometric sensor, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, andillumination sensor 304.

The camera modules 305, 312, and 313 may include a first camera device305 disposed at the first surface 310A of the mobile electronic device300, a second camera device 312 disposed at the second surface 310Bthereof, and/or a flash 313. The camera modules 305 and 312 may includeone or a plurality of lenses, an image sensor, and/or an image signalprocessor. The flash 313 may include, for example, a light emittingdiode or a xenon lamp. In some embodiments, two or more lenses (infraredcamera, wide angle and telephoto lens) and image sensors may be disposedat one surface of the mobile electronic device 300.

The key input device 317 may be disposed at the side surface 310C of thehousing 310. In one embodiment, the mobile electronic device 300 may notinclude some or all of the above-described key input devices 317, andthe key input device 317 that is not included may be implemented inother forms such as a soft key on the display 301. In some embodiments,the key input device 317 may include a sensor module 316 disposed at thesecond surface 310B of the housing 310.

The light emitting element 306 may be disposed at, for example, thefirst surface 310A of the housing 310. The light emitting element 306may provide, for example, status information of the mobile electronicdevice 300 in an optical form. In one embodiment, the light emittingelement 306 may provide, for example, a light source interworking withan operation of the camera module 305. The light emitting element 306may include, for example, a light emitting diode (LED), an IR LED, and axenon lamp.

The connector ports 308 and 309 may include a first connector port 308that may receive a connector (e.g., a USB connector) for transmittingand receiving power and/or data to and from an external electronicdevice and/or a second connector hole (e.g., earphone jack) 309 that canreceive a connector for transmitting and receiving audio signals to andfrom an external electronic device.

FIG. 3C is an exploded perspective view illustrating a mobile electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3C, a mobile electronic device 320 (e.g., the mobileelectronic device 300 of FIG. 3A) may include a side bezel structure321, first support member 3211 (e.g., bracket), front plate 322, display323, printed circuit board 324, battery 325, second support member 326(e.g., rear case), antenna 327, and rear plate 328. In some embodiments,the electronic device 320 may omit at least one (e.g., the first supportmember 3211 or the second support member 326) of the components or mayfurther include other components. At least one of the components of theelectronic device 320 may be the same as or similar to at least one ofthe components of the mobile electronic device 300 of FIG. 3A or 3B anda duplicated description is omitted below.

The first support member 3211 may be disposed inside the electronicdevice 320 to be connected to the side bezel structure 321 or may beintegrally formed with the side bezel structure 321. The first supportmember 3211 may be made of, for example, a metal material and/or anon-metal (e.g., polymer) material. In the first support member 3211,the display 323 may be coupled to one surface thereof, and the printedcircuit board 324 may be coupled to the other surface thereof. In theprinted circuit board 324, a processor, a memory, and/or an interfacemay be mounted. The processor may include, for example, one or more of acentral processing unit, application processor, graphic processing unit,image signal processor, sensor hub processor, or communicationprocessor.

The memory may include, for example, a volatile memory or a nonvolatilememory.

The interface may include, for example, a HDMI, USB interface, SD cardinterface, and/or audio interface. The interface may, for example,electrically or physically connect the electronic device 320 to anexternal electronic device and include a USB connector, an SDcard/multimedia card (MMC) connector, or an audio connector.

The battery 325 is a device for supplying power to at least onecomponent of the electronic device 320 and may include, for example, anon-rechargeable primary battery, a rechargeable secondary battery, or afuel cell. At least part of the battery 325 may be disposed, forexample, on substantially the same plane as that of the printed circuitboard 324. The battery 325 may be integrally disposed inside theelectronic device 320 or may be detachably disposed in the electronicdevice 320.

The antenna 327 may be disposed between the rear plate 328 and thebattery 325. The antenna 327 may include, for example, a near fieldcommunication (NFC) antenna, wireless charging antenna, and/or magneticsecure transmission (MST) antenna. The antenna 327 may perform, forexample, short range communication with an external device or maywirelessly transmit and receive power required for charging. In oneembodiment, an antenna structure may be formed by some or a combinationof the side bezel structure 321 and/or the first support member 3211.

According to one embodiment, the electronic device (e.g., an electronicdevice (300) of FIG. 3A) may include at least one through hole (e.g., athrough hole (330) of FIG. 3A) disposed in at least a portion of theside bezel structure 321. The through hole (e.g., a through hole (330)of FIG. 3A) may be filled with non-conductive material. The through hole(e.g., a through hole (330) of FIG. 3A) exposed to the outside of theside bezel structure 321 may be filled with the non-conductive materialand be processed not to be visually identified by opaque paint.

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a structure of, for example, a thirdantenna module described with reference to FIG. 2 according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4A, (a) is a perspective view illustrating the thirdantenna module 246 viewed from one side, and (b) is a perspective viewillustrating the third antenna module 246 viewed from the other side.Further, (c) is a cross-sectional view illustrating the third antennamodule 246 taken along line X-X′ of FIG. 4A.

With reference to FIG. 4A, in one embodiment, the third antenna module246 may include a printed circuit board 410, an antenna array 430, anRFIC 452, and a PMIC 454. Alternatively, the third antenna module 246may further include a shield member 490. In other embodiments, at leastone of the above-described components may be omitted or at least two ofthe components may be integrally formed.

The printed circuit board 410 may include a plurality of conductivelayers and a plurality of non-conductive layers stacked alternately withthe conductive layers. The printed circuit board 410 may provideelectrical connections between the printed circuit board 410 and/orvarious electronic components disposed outside using wirings andconductive vias formed in the conductive layer.

The antenna array 430 (e.g., 248 of FIG. 2 ) may include a plurality ofantenna elements 432, 434, 436, or 438 disposed to form a directionalbeam. As illustrated, the antenna elements 432, 434, 436, or 438 may beformed at a first surface of the printed circuit board 410. According toanother embodiment, the antenna array 430 may be formed inside theprinted circuit board 410. According to the embodiment, the antennaarray 430 may include the same or a different shape or kind of aplurality of antenna arrays (e.g., dipole antenna array and/or patchantenna array).

The RFIC 452 (e.g., the third RFIC 226 of FIG. 2 ) may be disposed atanother area (e.g., a second surface opposite to the first surface) ofthe printed circuit board 410 spaced apart from the antenna array. TheRFIC 452 is configured to process signals of a selected frequency bandtransmitted/received through the antenna array 430. According to oneembodiment, upon transmission, the RFIC 452 may convert a basebandsignal obtained from a communication processor (not shown) to an RFsignal of a designated band. Upon reception, the RFIC 452 may convert anRF signal received through the antenna array 430 to a baseband signaland transfer the baseband signal to the communication processor.

According to another embodiment, upon transmission, the RFIC 452 mayup-convert an IF signal (e.g., about 9 GHz to about 11 GHz) obtainedfrom an intermediate frequency integrate circuit (IFIC) (e.g., 228 ofFIG. 2 ) to an RF signal of a selected band. Upon reception, the RFIC452 may down-convert the RF signal obtained through the antenna array430, convert the RF signal to an IF signal, and transfer the IF signalto the IFIC.

The PMIC 454 may be disposed in another partial area (e.g., the secondsurface) of the printed circuit board 410 spaced apart from the antennaarray 430. The PMIC 454 may receive a voltage from a main PCB (notillustrated) to provide power necessary for various components (e.g.,the RFIC 452) on the antenna module.

The shielding member 490 may be disposed at a portion (e.g., the secondsurface) of the printed circuit board 410 so as to electromagneticallyshield at least one of the RFIC 452 or the PMIC 454. According to oneembodiment, the shield member 490 may include a shield can.

Although not shown, in various embodiments, the third antenna module 246may be electrically connected to another printed circuit board (e.g.,main circuit board) through a module interface. The module interface mayinclude a connecting member, for example, a coaxial cable connector,board to board connector, interposer, or flexible printed circuit board(FPCB). The RFIC 452 and/or the PMIC 454 of the antenna module may beelectrically connected to the printed circuit board through theconnection member.

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view illustrating the third antenna moduletaken along line Y-Y′ of FIG. 4A according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

The printed circuit board 410 of the illustrated embodiment may includean antenna layer 411 and a network layer 413 according to an embodimentof the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the antenna layer 411 may include at least onedielectric layer 437-1, and the antenna element 436 and/or a powerfeeding portion 425 formed on or inside an outer surface of a dielectriclayer. The power feeding portion 425 may include a power feeding point427 and/or a power feeding line 429.

The network layer 413 may include at least one dielectric layer 437-2,at least one ground layer 433, at least one conductive via 435, atransmission line 423, and/or a power feeding line 429 formed on orinside an outer surface of the dielectric layer.

Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the RFIC 452 (e.g., the thirdRFIC 226 of FIG. 2 ) of (c) may be electrically connected to the networklayer 413 through, for example, first and second solder bumps 440-1 and440-2. In other embodiments, various connection structures (e.g., solderor ball grid array (BGA)) instead of the solder bumps may be used. TheRFIC 452 may be electrically connected to the antenna element 436through the first solder bump 440-1, the transmission line 423, and thepower feeding portion 425. The RFIC 452 may also be electricallyconnected to the ground layer 433 through the second solder bump 440-2and the conductive via 435. Although not illustrated, the RFIC 452 mayalso be electrically connected to the above-described module interfacethrough the power feeding line 429.

According to various embodiments, at least some components of the thirdantenna module 246 of FIGS. 4A and 4B may be designed to a structuresubstantially corresponding to at least some components of an antennamodule 500 of FIG. 8 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Forexample, the antenna array 430 of FIG. 4A may correspond to a hornstructure including a through hole 513 of FIG. 8 , and in order toinclude a conductive line 526 of FIG. 8 , a feeding portion 425 of FIG.4B may correspond to a substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) structureformed by a plurality of conductive vias 525.

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a separated state of an antenna moduleaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a coupled state of an antenna moduleaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

An antenna module 500 of FIG. 5A may be at least partially similar tothe third antenna module 246 of FIG. 2 or may further include othercomponents.

With reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, an electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 300 of FIG. 3A) may include a side member 510 havingat least a portion made of a conductive material and an antenna module500 disposed to face the side member 510 in an internal space of theelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3A).According to one embodiment, the side member 510 may include a firstsurface 511 facing the outside (e.g., the outside of the electronicdevice) of a housing (e.g., the housing 310 of FIG. 3A) and a secondsurface 512 facing in a direction (e.g., an internal space of theelectronic device) opposite to that of the first surface 511. Accordingto an embodiment, the side member 510 may include a plurality of throughholes 513, 513-1, and 513-2 extended from the first surface 511 to thesecond surface 512 and disposed at regular intervals. According to oneembodiment, the through holes 513, 513-1, and 513-2 are illustrated inthree locations, but may be disposed at two or four or more locations.

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, one through hole 513disposed in a first portion P1 of the side member 510 is described, butthe remaining through holes 513-1 and 513-2 and a feeding structure ofthe antenna module 500 corresponding thereto may also have substantiallythe same configuration.

According to various embodiments, the through hole 513 may include afirst opening (e.g., a first opening 5131 of FIG. 6A) formed on thefirst surface 511 and having a first size when the housing (e.g., thehousing 310 of FIG. 3A) is viewed from the outside and a second opening(e.g., a second opening 5132 of FIG. 6A) formed on the second surface512 and having a second size smaller than the first size when thehousing (e.g., the housing 310 of FIG. 3A) is viewed from the outside.According to one embodiment, the through hole 513 may be filled with afirst non-conductive material 514. According to an embodiment, the firstnon-conductive material 514 may include a dielectric material (e.g.,polycarbonate (PC)) in which a liquid or semi-solid material is filledand solidified in the through hole 513. According to one embodiment, thethrough hole 513 exposed to the outside of the side member 510 may befilled with the first non-conductive material 514 and be processed notto be visually identified by opaque paint.

According to various embodiments, the antenna module 500 may be disposedat an internal space of an electronic device (e.g., the electronicdevice 300 of FIG. 3A). According to an embodiment, the antenna module500 may be disposed such that a beam pattern is formed in a direction ofa side surface (e.g., the side surface 310C of FIG. 3A) of theelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3A). Inanother embodiment, the antenna module 500 may be disposed so that abeam pattern is formed toward at least a portion of a rear plate (e.g.,the rear plate 311 of FIG. 3B) (e.g., second plate) or a front plate(e.g., the front plate 302 of FIG. 3A) (e.g., first plate) of theelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3A).According to an embodiment, the antenna module 500 may include a printedcircuit board 520 (e.g., structure) disposed at an internal space of theelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3A) and awireless communication circuit 590 disposed in the printed circuit board520. According to an embodiment, the antenna module 500 may be disposedto face at least a first portion P1 having a wireless signal waveguidestructure through the through hole 513 of the side member 510 includinga conductive material.

According to various embodiments, the printed circuit board 520 mayinclude a third surface 521 facing the second surface 512 and a fourthsurface 522 facing in a direction opposite to that of the third surface521. According to an embodiment, when the printed circuit board 520 isdisposed at the side member 510, the second surface 512 and the thirdsurface 521 may be disposed to face each other.

According to various embodiments, a wireless communication circuit 590may be disposed at the fourth surface 522 of the printed circuit board520. According to one embodiment, the wireless communication circuit 590may be disposed inside the electronic device (e.g., the electronicdevice 300 of FIG. 3A) instead of the printed circuit board 520 and beelectrically connected to the printed circuit board 520 through aconductive cable (e.g., flexible printed circuit board (FPCB)).According to an embodiment, the wireless communication circuit 590 maybe configured to transmit and/or receive a signal having a frequency inthe range of 3 GHz to 100 GHz through the antenna module 500 and thethrough hole 513. According to an embodiment, the printed circuit board520 may include a slot (e.g., a slot 5231 of FIG. 7A) disposed at thethird surface 521 and facing the through hole 513. According to anembodiment, although not shown, the electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 300 of FIG. 3A) may have a coupling structure in whicha slot (e.g., the slot 5231 of FIG. 7A) of the printed circuit board 520faces the through hole 513 of the side member 510. For example, theprinted circuit board 520 may include a plurality of slots that may faceeach other at positions corresponding to the plurality of through holes513, 513-1, and 513-2, respectively, disposed at the side member 510. Inanother embodiment, the electronic device may include at least twoprinted circuit boards having at least one slot so as to correspond toeach of the plurality of through holes 513, 513-1, and 513-2 disposed inthe side member 510. In another embodiment, in an area including thethrough hole 513 of the second surface 512 of the side member 510, astepped recess lower than the second surface 512 may be formed, and byonly an operation of seating the printed circuit board 520 in therecess, the slot (e.g., the slot 5231 of FIG. 7A) may be guided to facethe through hole 513. In another embodiment, when a feeding structure isdisposed at a structure (e.g., dielectric structure) instead of theprinted circuit board 520, by forming a protruding portion in at leastone of the structure and the side member 510 and by forming a recess ina relative member corresponding thereto, the slot (e.g., the slot 5231of FIG. 7A) and may be guided to face the through hole 513 only by anoperation of inserting the protruding portion into the recess.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, 6F, 6G and 6H are cross-sectional viewsillustrating various shapes of a through hole viewed from line A-A′ ofFIG. 5A according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the side member 510 may include a through hole 513formed from the first surface 511 to the second surface 512. Accordingto one embodiment, the through hole 513 may include the first opening5131 close to the first surface 511 and having a first size and a secondopening 5132 extended from the first opening 5131 and close to thesecond surface 512 and having a second size smaller than the first size.According to an embodiment, the through hole 513 may be formed in astepped shape at a boundary portion between the first opening 5131 andthe second opening 5132. According to one embodiment, the through hole513 may be formed symmetrically based on a virtual center line IL.

Referring to FIG. 6B, a side member 610 may include a through hole 613formed from a first surface 611 to a second surface 612. According toone embodiment, the through hole 613 may include a first opening 6131close to the first surface 611 and having a first size and a secondopening 6132 extended from the first opening 6131 and close to thesecond surface 612 and having a second size smaller than the first size.According to an embodiment, the through hole 613 may be formed in onlyone side surface based on a virtual center line IL from the same shapeas that of the through hole 513 of FIG. 6A.

Referring to FIG. 6C, a side member 620 may include a through hole 623formed from a first surface 621 to a second surface 622. According toone embodiment, the through hole 623 may include a first opening 6231close to the first surface 621 and having a first size and a secondopening 6232 extended from the first opening 6231 and close to thesecond surface 622 and having a second size smaller than the first size.According to an embodiment, the through hole 623 may be formed in atapered shape having a gradually reducing width as advancing from thefirst opening 6231 to the second opening 6232. According to oneembodiment, the through hole 623 may be formed symmetrically based on avirtual center line IL.

Referring to FIG. 6D, a side member 630 may include a through hole 633formed from a first surface 631 to a second surface 632. According toone embodiment, the through hole 633 may include a first opening 6331close to the first surface 631 and having a first size and a secondopening 6332 extended from the first opening 6331 and close to a secondsurface 632 and having a second size smaller than the first size.According to an embodiment, the through hole 633 may be formed in onlyone side based on a virtual center line IL from the same shape as thatof the through hole 623 of FIG. 6C.

Referring to FIG. 6E, a side member 640 may include a through hole 643formed from a first surface 641 to a second surface 642. According toone embodiment, the through hole 643 may include a first opening 6431close to the first surface 641 and having a first size and a secondopening 6432 extended from the first opening 6431 and close to thesecond surface 642 and having a second size smaller than the first size.According to an embodiment, the through hole 643 may be formed in acurved shape having a gradually reducing width as advancing from thefirst opening 6431 to the second opening 6432. According to anembodiment, the through hole 643 may be formed symmetrically based on avirtual center line IL.

Referring to FIG. 6F, a side member 650 may include a through hole 653formed from a first surface 651 to a second surface 652. According to anembodiment, the through hole 653 may include a first opening 6531 closeto the first surface 651 and having a first size and a second opening6532 extended from the first opening 6531 and close to the secondsurface 652 and having a second size smaller than the first size.According to an embodiment, the through hole 653 may be formed in onlyone side based on a virtual center line IL in the same shape as that ofthe through hole 643 of FIG. 6E.

Referring to FIG. 6G, a side member 660 may include a through hole 663formed from a first surface 661 to a second surface 662. According toone embodiment, the through hole 663 may include a first opening 6631close to the first surface 661 and having a first size and a secondopening 6632 extended from the first opening 6631 and close to thesecond surface 662 and having a second size smaller than the first size.According to an embodiment, the through hole 663 may be formed in amultiple stepped shape having a gradually reducing width as advancingfrom the first opening 6631 to the second opening 6632. According to anembodiment, the through hole 663 may be formed symmetrically based on avirtual center line IL.

Referring to FIG. 6H, a side member 670 may include a through hole 673formed from a first surface 671 to a second surface 672. According to anembodiment, the through hole 673 may include a first opening 6731 closeto the first surface 671 and having a first size and a second opening6732 extended from the first opening 6731 and close to the secondsurface 672 and having a second size smaller than the first size.According to an embodiment, the through hole 673 may be formed in onlyone side based on a virtual center line IL in the same shape as that ofthe through hole 663 of FIG. 6G.

According to various embodiments, although not illustrated, the throughhole may be formed by mixing the above-described various shapes. Forexample, the side member may include various through holes having ashape that gradually decreases in size as advancing from the firstopening to the second opening.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view illustrating a printed circuit board(e.g., structure) according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a stacked structure ofthe printed circuit board viewed from line B-B′ of FIG. 7A according toan embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, the printed circuit board 520 may includethe third surface 521 facing the second surface 512 of the side member510 and the fourth surface 522 facing in a direction opposite to that ofthe third surface 521. According to an embodiment, the printed circuitboard 520 may be formed in a structure in which a plurality ofinsulating layers 5201 is stacked. According to an embodiment, theprinted circuit board 520 may include conductive layers 523 and 524disposed through at least two separated layers. According to anembodiment, the printed circuit board 520 may include a first conductivelayer 523 and a second conductive layer 524 facing the first conductivelayer 523 and spaced apart from the first conductive layer 523.According to an embodiment, the first conductive layer 523 may bedisposed to be exposed to at least a portion of the third surface 521 ofthe printed circuit board 520. In another embodiment, the firstconductive layer 523 may be disposed through any one insulating layerinside the printed circuit board 520. According to one embodiment, thesecond conductive layer 524 may be disposed through any one insulatinglayer inside the printed circuit board 520.

According to various embodiments, the printed circuit board 520 mayinclude a first area A1 disposed on the third surface 521 and a secondarea A2 disposed at a periphery of the first area A1. According to anembodiment, the first area A1 may include the slot 5231 at leastpartially overlapped with a second opening (e.g., the opening 5132 ofFIG. 8 ) when viewed from above the first surface 511. According to anembodiment, the slot 5231 may be formed by an omitted portion of thefirst conductive layer 523. According to an embodiment, the slot 5231 ofthe first area A1 may include a second non-conductive material 5232.According to one embodiment, the second non-conductive material 5232 mayinclude an insulating layer.

According to various embodiments, the second area A2 may include aplurality of conductive vias 525 and a conductive line 526 disposed at aperiphery of the first area A1. According to an embodiment, theplurality of conductive vias 525 may be disposed at regular intervals soas to form the second area A2. According to an embodiment, the pluralityof conductive vias 525 may electrically connect the first conductivelayer 523 and the second conductive layer 524 through an insulatinglayer of the printed circuit board 520. For example, the second area A2may include an SIW structure formed through the plurality of conductivevias 525. According to an embodiment, the conductive line 526 may bedisposed between the first conductive layer 523 and the secondconductive layer 524. According to an embodiment, an end portion of theconductive line 526 may be disposed between the first conductive layer523 and the second conductive layer 524 or may be electrically connectedto the first conductive layer 523. According to an embodiment, theconductive line 526 may be electrically connected to a feeding line 5261disposed in an insulating layer of the printed circuit board 520.According to an embodiment, the conductive line 526 may include aconductive via of a predetermined length disposed through the pluralityof insulating layers. According to an embodiment, the feeding line 5261may be electrically connected to a wireless communication circuit 590through a feeding line 5262. According to one embodiment, the printedcircuit board 520 may include a conductive pattern 5263 of apredetermined size disposed between the first conductive layer 523 andthe second conductive layer 524 of the second area A2 and electricallyconnected to an end portion of the conductive line 526. According to anembodiment, the conductive line 526 and/or the conductive pattern 5263may be disposed at a position capacitively coupled to the firstconductive layer 523. According to an embodiment, the conductive pattern5263 may be omitted.

According to various embodiments, when viewed from above the thirdsurface 521, the plurality of conductive vias 525 may have a waveguidestructure of a radio signal enclosing the first area A1 in a closed loopshape. According to an embodiment, the plurality of conductive vias 525may include an SIW structure enclosing the first area A1 and theconductive line 526. According to one embodiment, the antenna module 500is connected to a waveguide horn structure by the through hole 513having a channel CH1 formed between the first opening 5131 and thesecond opening 5132 of the side member 510, thereby transmitting and/orreceiving a radio signal through the waveguide horn structure.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a coupled state of anantenna module according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the printed circuit board 520 may be disposed atthe side member 510. According to an embodiment, the second surface 512of the side member 510 and the third surface 521 of the printed circuitboard 520 may be disposed in a surface contact manner. In this case, thesecond opening 5132 of the through hole 513 of the side member 510 andthe slot 5231 of the printed circuit board 520 may face each other.According to an embodiment, the slot 5231 may have substantially thesame size and shape as those of the second opening 5132. According toone embodiment, the wireless communication circuit 590 may be configuredto transmit and/or receive a signal having a frequency in the range of 3GHz to 100 GHz through the conductive line 526 and through the slot 5231electrically enclosed by a plurality of conductive vias 525 of theprinted circuit board 520 and the through hole 513 of the side member510 connected thereto.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are graphs illustrating bandwidths according toimpedance characteristics and gain characteristics of the antenna moduleof FIG. 8 according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 9C is a diagram illustrating a radiation pattern of the antennamodule of FIG. 8 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C, it can be seen that an antenna module(e.g., the antenna module 500 of FIG. 8 ) including a slot (e.g., theslot 5231 of FIG. 8 ) having an SIW structure in a printed circuit board(e.g., the printed circuit board 520 of FIG. 8 ) connected to a hornstructure through a through hole (e.g., the through hole 513 of FIG. 8 )of a side member (e.g., the side member 510 of FIG. 8 ) operatessmoothly with a bandwidth (a bandwidth 901 of FIG. 9A and a bandwidth902 of FIG. 9B) of about 3 GHz in the range of about 26.5 GHz to 29.5GHz. Although not illustrated, in the antenna module 500, an operatingfrequency or a bandwidth may be determined according to a shape or asize of the through hole 513, a size of the slot 5231, or a dispositionposition and/or a size of the conductive line (e.g., the conductive line526 of FIG. 8 ).

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a printed circuit boardaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an antenna module inwhich a printed circuit board viewed from line C-C′ of FIG. 10 isdisposed at a side member according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

In describing embodiments of the disclosure, the same reference numeralsare used for the same components as the above-described components, anda detailed description thereof may be omitted.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11 , a plurality of conductive vias 525 isdisposed to include a first area (e.g., the first area A1 of FIG. 7A)and the conductive line 526, but one side thereof may be disposed to beopened. In this case, the conductive line 526 may be electricallyconnected to the first conductive layer 523, and conductive vias may beomitted at one side of an SIW structure formed through the plurality ofconductive vias 525 relatively far from the slot 5231 (non-resonanttype).

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating impedance characteristics of theantenna module of FIG. 11 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

In FIG. 12 , it can be seen that a loss (insertion loss and return loss)of an antenna module (e.g., the antenna module 500 of FIG. 11 ) disposedto open one side of a SIW structure formed by a plurality of conductivevias (e.g., the plurality of conductive vias 525 of FIG. 11 ) isslightly reduced, but a wide bandwidth (e.g., a bandwidth 1201 of FIG.12 ) of about 15 GHz in the range of about 25 GHz to 40 GHz may besecured.

FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating a separated state of an antennamodule according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating a coupled state of an antenna moduleaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

An antenna module 1300 of FIGS. 13A and 13B may be at least partiallysimilar to the third antenna module 246 of FIG. 2 or may further includeother components of the antenna module.

Referring to FIGS. 13A and 13B, the antenna module 1300 may include aprinted circuit board 530 disposed to face the side member 510 includinga plurality of through holes 513, 513-1, and 513-2 filled with the firstnon-conductive material 514 and the wireless communication circuit 590mounted in the printed circuit board 530. According to one embodiment,the side member 510 may include the first surface 511 facing the outside(e.g., the outside of the electronic device) of the housing (e.g., thehousing 310 of FIG. 3A) and the second surface 512 facing in a direction(e.g., an internal space of the electronic device) opposite to that ofthe first surface 511. According to one embodiment, the through holes513, 513-1, and 513-2 may be extended from the first surface 511 to thesecond surface 512. According to one embodiment, the through holes 513,513-1, and 513-2 are illustrated in three locations, but may be disposedin two or four or more locations. For example, a detailed structure ofthe through holes 513, 513-1, and 513-2 may be similar to aconfiguration of FIGS. 6A to 6H.

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, one through hole 513disposed in a first portion P2 of the side member 510 is described, butthe remaining through holes 513-1 and 513-2 and a feeding structure ofthe antenna module 1300 corresponding thereto may also havesubstantially the same configuration.

According to various embodiments, the printed circuit board 530 mayinclude a first substrate surface 5301, a second substrate surface 5302facing in a direction opposite to that of the first substrate surface5301, and a substrate side surface 531 enclosing a space between thefirst substrate surface 5301 and the second substrate surface 5302.According to an embodiment, the antenna module 1300 may include awireless communication circuit 590 disposed at the second substratesurface 5302 of the printed circuit board 530. According to oneembodiment, the wireless communication circuit 590 may be disposedinside the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 300 of FIG.3A) instead of the printed circuit board 530 and be electricallyconnected through the printed circuit board 530 and the conductive cable(e.g., flexible printed circuit board (FPCB)). According to oneembodiment, the wireless communication circuit 590 may be configured totransmit and/or receive a signal having a frequency in the range of 3GHz to 100 GHz through the antenna module 1300.

According to various embodiments, the printed circuit board 530 may bedisposed such that the substrate side surface 531 faces the secondsurface 512 of the side member 510. According to an embodiment, theprinted circuit board 530 may include an area (e.g., a first area A3 ofFIG. 14 ) disposed at the substrate side surface 531 and facing thethrough hole 513. According to an embodiment, although not illustrated,the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3A) mayhave a coupling structure in which the first area A3 of the printedcircuit board 530 faces the through hole 513 of the side member 510. Forexample, a stepped recess lower than the second surface 512 may beformed in an area including the through hole 513 of the second surface512 of the side member 510, and the first area A3 (e.g., the first areaA3 of FIG. 14 ) may guide to face the through hole 513 by only anoperation in which at least a portion of the substrate side surface 531of the printed circuit board 530 is seated in the recess.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating a printed circuit boardaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an antenna module inwhich a printed circuit board viewed from line D-D′ of FIG. 14 isdisposed at a side member according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15 , the printed circuit board 530 of theantenna module 1300 may include the first substrate surface 5301, thesecond substrate surface 5302 facing in a direction opposite to that ofthe first substrate surface 5301, and the substrate side surface 531enclosing a space between the first substrate surface 5301 and thesecond substrate surface 5302 and facing the second surface 512 of theside member 510. According to an embodiment, the printed circuit board530 may be formed in a structure in which insulating layers 5303 arestacked. According to an embodiment, the printed circuit board 530 mayinclude conductive layers 533 and 534 disposed in parallel to the firstsubstrate surface 5301 and disposed through at least two layers spacedapart from each other. According to an embodiment, the printed circuitboard 530 may include a first conductive layer 533 and a secondconductive layer 534 facing the first conductive layer 533 and spacedapart from the first conductive layer 533. According to an embodiment,the first conductive layer 533 may be disposed to expose at least aportion of the first substrate surface 5301 of the printed circuit board530. In another embodiment, the first conductive layer 533 may bedisposed inside the printed circuit board 530 through any one insulatinglayer closer to the first substrate surface 5301 rather than the secondsubstrate surface 5302. According to an embodiment, the secondconductive layer 534 may be disposed inside the printed circuit board530 through any one insulating layer closer to the second substratesurface 5302 rather than the first substrate surface 5301.

According to various embodiments, the printed circuit board 530 mayinclude a first area A3 including a second non-conductive material 5311disposed at the substrate side surface 531 and a second area A4 disposedat the first substrate surface 5301. According to one embodiment, whenthe substrate side surface 531 of the printed circuit board 530 isdisposed at the second surface 512 of the side member 510, the firstarea A3 may face the through hole 513 disposed in a first portion (e.g.,the first portion P2 of FIG. 13A) of the side member 510. According toan embodiment, the first area A3 may be formed in substantially the samesize and shape as those of the second opening 5132 of the through hole513.

According to various embodiments, the printed circuit board 530 mayinclude a plurality of conductive vias 535 disposed in a predeterminedgap in order to form a second area A4 having a U-type conductive closedstructure opened toward the side member 510 in the first substratesurface 5301. According to one embodiment, the plurality of conductivevias 535 may be disposed up to near the substrate side surface 531.According to one embodiment, the plurality of conductive vias 535 may beformed in a direction from the first substrate surface 5301 to thesecond substrate surface 5302 of the printed circuit board 530 and mayelectrically connect the first conductive layer 533 and the secondconductive layer 534. According to an embodiment, the printed circuitboard 530 may include a conductive line 536 disposed in the second areaA4. According to an embodiment, the conductive line 536 may beelectrically connected to a feeding line 5361 disposed in the insulatinglayer of the printed circuit board 530. According to one embodiment, theconductive lines 536 may include conductive vias of a predeterminedlength disposed through the plurality of insulating layers. According toan embodiment, the feeding line 5361 may be electrically connected tothe wireless communication circuit 590 through a feeding line 5362.According to an embodiment, the printed circuit board 530 may include aconductive pattern 5363 of a predetermined size disposed between thefirst conductive layer 533 and the second conductive layer 534 of thesecond area A4 and electrically connected to an end portion of theconductive line 536. According to an embodiment, the conductive line 536and/or the conductive pattern 5363 may be disposed at positionscapacitively coupled to the first conductive layer 533. According to anembodiment, the conductive pattern 5363 may be omitted.

According to various embodiments, the plurality of conductive vias 535may form a conductive closed structure in which the printed circuitboard 530 is generally closed together with the second surface 512 ofthe conductive side member 510. Accordingly, the antenna module 1300 mayinclude a conductive closed structure having an SIW structure formed bythe first conductive layer 533, the second conductive layer 534, and theplurality of conductive vias 535. According to an embodiment, in the SIWstructure by the first conductive layer 533, the second conductive layer534, and the plurality of conductive vias 535, when viewed from abovethe first substrate surface 5301, at least some of the plurality ofconductive vias 535 disposed at one side adjacent to the substrate sidesurface 531 may be omitted.

According to various embodiments, the antenna module 1300 may beconnected to a waveguide horn structure by the through hole 513 having achannel CH2 formed between the first opening 5131 and the second opening5132 of the side member 510, thereby transmitting and/or receiving aradio signal through the waveguide horn structure.

According to various embodiments, a SIW structure by the firstconductive layer 533, the second conductive layer 534, and the pluralityof conductive vias 535 may be close to the substrate side surface 531,but may be disposed so as not to contact, and bandwidth characteristicsof the antenna module 1300 may be adjusted according to a transitionlength L between the substrate side surface 531 and the SIW structure.

FIG. 16 is a graph illustrating gain characteristics of the antennamodule of FIG. 15 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 16 , it can be seen that an antenna module (e.g., theantenna module 1300 of FIG. 15 ) including a first conductive layer(e.g., the first conductive layer 533 of FIG. 15 ), a second conductivelayer (e.g., the second conductive layer 534 of FIG. 15 ), a pluralityof conductive vias (e.g., a plurality of conductive vias 535 of FIG. 15), and a conductive line (e.g., the conductive line 536 of FIG. 15 )secures (e.g., 1601 of FIG. 16 ) a gain characteristic of about 5 dBi inabout 28 GHz frequency band and 7.6 dBi in about 39 GHz frequency bandthrough a signal waveguide structure by a through hole (e.g., thethrough hole 513 of FIG. 15 ), thereby operating smoothly in thefrequency band.

FIG. 17 is a graph illustrating an impedance bandwidth characteristicaccording to a change in distance from the plurality of conductive viasof the antenna module to the side member of FIG. 15 according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 17 , in an antenna module (e.g., the antenna module1300 of FIG. 15 ), an operating frequency band and/or a bandwidth of theantenna module (e.g., the antenna module 1300 of FIG. 15 ) may bedetermined by a transition length (e.g., the transition length L of FIG.15 ) between (e.g., 1701 of FIG. 17 ) an end portion of a plurality ofconductive vias (e.g., the plurality of conductive vias 535 of FIG. 15 )forming a second area (e.g., the second area A4 of FIG. 15 ) and theside member (e.g., the side member 510 of FIG. 15 ). For example, as thetransition length (e.g., the transition length L of FIG. 15 ) becomesshorter, it can be seen that an impedance characteristic is improvedwhile shifting to a low frequency band. According to one embodiment, itcan be seen that the antenna module (e.g., the antenna module 1300 ofFIG. 15 ) may secure a wide bandwidth of about 10.8 GHz in the range ofabout 28.0 GHz to 38.8 GHz according to adjustment of the transitionlength (e.g., the transition length L of FIG. 15 ).

FIGS. 18A, 18B and 18C are cross-sectional views illustrating maincomponents of a disposition configuration of antenna modules inelectronic devices according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

Electronic devices 1800, 1800-1, and 1800-2 of FIGS. 18A, 18B and 18Cmay be at least partially similar to the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1and the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3A and may further include othercomponents of the electronic device.

Antenna modules 1840, 1850, and 1860 of FIGS. 18A, 18B and 18C may be atleast partially similar to the antenna module 500 of FIG. 8 or theantenna module 1300 of FIG. 15 or may further include other componentsof the antenna module.

Referring to FIG. 18A, the electronic device 1800 may include a firstplate 1820, a second plate 1830 facing in a direction opposite to thatof the first plate 1820, and a side member 1810 enclosing a space 1801between the first plate 1820 and the second plate 1830. According to anembodiment, the side member 1810 may include a through hole 1811 as aportion of the above-described horn waveguide structure.

According to various embodiments, the antenna module 1840 may include afirst printed circuit board 1841 (e.g., structure) disposed to contactthe side member 1810 in the internal space 1801 of the electronic device1800, a second printed circuit board 1842 spaced apart from the printedcircuit board 1841, and a conductive cable 1845 (e.g., flexible printedcircuit board (FPCB)) for electrically connecting the second printedcircuit board 1842 and the first printed circuit board 1841. Accordingto one embodiment, at a third surface (e.g., the third surface 521 ofFIG. 8 ) of the first printed circuit board 1841, a slot (e.g., the slot5231 of FIG. 8 ) may be formed, and the first surface (e.g., the firstsurface 511 of FIG. 8 ) may contact the side member 1810 so that theslot (e.g., the slot 5231 of FIG. 8 ) faces the through hole 1811.According to an embodiment, the second printed circuit board 1842 mayinclude a conductive patch antenna 1844 disposed at one surface and awireless communication circuit 1843 disposed at another surface oppositeto one surface. According to an embodiment, the second printed circuitboard 1842 may be disposed in a direction parallel to the second plate1830. Accordingly, the antenna module 1840 may form a beam pattern in alateral direction ({circle around (1)} direction) through the throughhole 1811 and a slot (e.g., the slot 5231 of FIG. 8 ) of the firstprinted circuit board 1841 and/or a direction ({circle around (2)}direction) in which the second plate 1830 faces through the conductivepatch antenna 1844.

Referring to FIG. 18B, the antenna module 1850 may include a firstprinted circuit board 1851 (e.g., structure) disposed to contact theside member 1810 in the internal space 1801 of an electronic device1800-1 and a second printed circuit board 1852 extended in a directionparallel to a second plate 1830 from the first printed circuit board1851. According to an embodiment, the first printed circuit board 1851and the second printed circuit board 1852 may be formed into one printedcircuit board. According to an embodiment, a first area (e.g., the firstarea A3 of FIG. 15 ) may be formed at a substrate side surface (e.g.,the substrate side surface 531 of FIG. 15 ) of the first printed circuitboard 1851, and the substrate side surface (e.g., the substrate sidesurface 531 of FIG. 15 ) may contact the side member 1810 such that thefirst area (e.g., the first area A3 of FIG. 15 ) faces the through hole1811. According to an embodiment, the second printed circuit board 1852may include a conductive patch antenna 1854 disposed at one surface anda wireless communication circuit 1853 disposed at another surfaceopposite to one surface. Accordingly, the antenna module 1850 may form abeam pattern in a lateral direction ({circle around (1)} direction)through the through hole 1811 and a first area (e.g., the first area A3of FIG. 15 ) of the first printed circuit board 1851 and/or a direction({circle around (2)} direction) in which the second plate 1830 facesthrough the conductive patch antenna 1854.

Referring to FIG. 18C, the antenna module 1860 may include a firstprinted circuit board 1861 (e.g., structure) disposed to contact theside member 1810 in the internal space 1801 of an electronic device1800-2, a second printed circuit board 1862 spaced apart from the firstprinted circuit board 1861, and a conductive cable 1865 (e.g., flexibleprinted circuit (FPCB)) for electrically connecting the second printedcircuit board 1862 and the first printed circuit board 1861. Accordingto an embodiment, a first area (e.g., the first area A3 of FIG. 15 ) maybe formed at a substrate side surface (e.g., the substrate side surface531 of FIG. 15 ) of the first printed circuit board 1861, and thesubstrate side surface (e.g., the substrate side surface 531 of FIG. 15) may contact the side member 1810 such that the first area (e.g., thefirst area A3 of FIG. 15 ) faces the through hole 1811. According to oneembodiment, the second printed circuit board 1862 may include aconductive patch antenna 1864 disposed at one surface and a wirelesscommunication circuit 1863 disposed at another surface opposite to onesurface. According to an embodiment, the second printed circuit board1862 may be disposed in a direction parallel to a second plate 1830.Accordingly, the antenna module 1860 may form a beam pattern in alateral direction ({circle around (1)} direction) through the throughhole 1811 and a first area (e.g., the first area A3 of FIG. 15 ) of thefirst printed circuit board 1861 and/or a direction ({circle around (2)}direction) in which the second plate 1830 faces through the conductivepatch antenna 1864.

FIGS. 19A, 19B and 19C are diagrams illustrating a disposition structurein which an antenna module is disposed at side members according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure.

An antenna module 1900 of FIGS. 19A to 19C may be at least partiallysimilar to the antenna module 500 of FIG. 8 or the antenna module 1300of FIG. 15 or may further include other components of the antennamodule.

Referring to FIGS. 19A and 19B, in a side member 1910, a seating groove1911 of a predetermined depth may be formed, and the antenna module 1900may be disposed in a manner to be at least partially seated in theseating groove 1911. In this case, the side member 1910 may furtherinclude a support member 1912 disposed to press the antenna module 1900toward the side member 1910 in the seating groove 1911. According to anembodiment, the support member 1912 may guide so that a slot (e.g., theslot 5231 of FIG. 8 ) of the antenna module 1900 faces tightly a throughhole 1913 (e.g., the through hole 513 of FIG. 8 ) of the side member1910. According to an embodiment, the support member 1912 may include aplate-shaped spring made of a metal material.

Referring to FIG. 19C, a side member 1920 may include a recess 1921formed to open at one side in a predetermined depth. According to anembodiment, the antenna module 1900 may be disposed in a manner to beseated in the recess 1921. In this case, in the recess 1921, the antennamodule 1900 may be fixed to the side member 1920 through a supportmember 1922 fastened to the side member 1920 by a screw 1923.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view illustrating main components in astate in which an antenna module is disposed in an electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

An electronic device 2000 of FIG. 20 may be at least partially similarto the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1 and the electronic device 300 ofFIG. 3A or may further include other components of the electronicdevice.

Referring to FIG. 20 , the electronic device 2000 may include a firstplate 2010, a second plate 2020 facing in a direction opposite to thatof the first plate 2010, and a side member 2030 enclosing a space 2001between the first plate 2010 and the second plate 2020. According to anembodiment, the side member 2030 may include a through hole 2031 as aportion of the above-described horn waveguide structure. According to anembodiment, the through hole 2031 may be disposed to be exposed in adirection ({circle around (3)} direction) in which the first plate 2010of the electronic device 2000 faces. According to an embodiment, theelectronic device 2000 may include a display 2040 (e.g., flexibledisplay) disposed in the internal space 2001 to be visible from theoutside through at least a partial area of the first plate 2010.According to an embodiment, the electronic device 2000 may include anaudio module 2050 therein. According to an embodiment, the audio module2050 may include a microphone module for collecting a sound from theoutside or a speaker module for emitting a sound to the outside.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device 2000 may includean antenna module 2100 disposed at the internal space 2001. According toan embodiment, the antenna module 2100 may include a first printedcircuit board 2110 (e.g., structure) disposed to contact the side member2030 in the internal space 2001 of the electronic device 2000, a secondprinted circuit board 2120 spaced apart from the printed circuit board2110, and a conductive cable 2130 (e.g., flexible printed circuit(FPCB)) for electrically connecting the second printed circuit board2120 and the first printed circuit board 2110. According to anembodiment, as described above, in the first printed circuit board 2110,a first area (e.g., the first area A3 of FIG. 15 ) may be formed in thesubstrate side surface (e.g., the substrate side surface 531 of FIG. 15), and the substrate side surface (e.g., the substrate side surface 531of FIG. 15 ) may contact the side member 2030 so that the first area(e.g., the first area A3 of FIG. 15 ) faces the through hole 2031.According to an embodiment, the second printed circuit board 2120 mayinclude a conductive patch antenna 2122 disposed at one surface and awireless communication circuit 2121 disposed at another surface oppositeto one surface. According to an embodiment, the second printed circuitboard 2120 may be disposed in a direction parallel to the second plate2020. Accordingly, the antenna module 2100 may form a beam pattern inthe direction ({circle around (3)} direction) in which the front plate2010 faces through the through hole 2031 and the first area (e.g., thefirst area A3 of FIG. 15 ) of the first printed circuit board 2110and/or a direction ({circle around (4)} direction) in which the secondplate 2020 faces through the conductive patch antenna 2122.

According to various embodiments, the through hole 2031 may be used asan external sound collecting hole by the audio module 2050 and/or adischarge hole for emitting a sound. Therefore, the electronic device2000 may include an audio waveguide hole 2051 disposed in the internalspace 2001 to extend from the audio module 2050 to the through hole2031. According to an embodiment, the electronic device 2000 may includea mesh member 2052 disposed between the audio waveguide hole 2051 andthe through hole 2031 to prevent inflow of a foreign material ormoisture.

According to various embodiments, the through hole 2031 may be appliedto an operation channel of at least one electronic component disposedinside the electronic device 2000 and disposed to detect an externalenvironment. According to an embodiment, the electronic component mayinclude at least one sensor. According to one embodiment, the sensor mayinclude a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an odor sensor. Inanother embodiment, the electronic component may include a cameradevice, illuminance sensor, ultrasonic sensor, indicator, or irissensor.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a position change of a through hole ina side member according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a radiation pattern of an antennamodule according to a change in position of the through hole of FIG. 21according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 21 and 22 , a side member 2200 may include a throughhole 2210 exposed to the outside. According to one embodiment, in astate in which a position of a printed circuit board (e.g., the printedcircuit board 520 of FIG. 8 ) (e.g., structure) disposed at the sidemember 2200 is not changed, when a position of the through hole 2210 ischanged, for example, when the position of the through hole 2210 ischanged by a predetermined position (e.g., the position of illustratedthrough hole 2220) in a first plate direction (e.g., y direction), asillustrated in FIG. 22 , a beam peak direction is changed from a pattern2201 to a pattern 2202; thus, it can be determined that the beam peakdirection is tilted in a direction of the first plate of the electronicdevice. This may mean that beam coverage may be enlarged in a directionof the first plate (e.g., the window of the electronic device).

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a through hole array disposed at aside member of an electronic device according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 24A is a perspective view illustrating a printed circuit boardillustrating an array feeding structure FA disposed to correspond to thethrough hole array of FIG. 23 according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 24B is a diagram illustrating a disposition structure of an arrayfeeding structure of FIG. 24A according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

An electronic device 2300 of FIG. 23 may be at least partially similarto the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1 and the electronic device 300 ofFIG. 3A or may further include other components of the electronicdevice.

Referring to FIG. 23 , the electronic device 2300 may include a firstplate 2301, a second plate 2302 facing in a direction opposite to thatof the first plate 2301, and a side member 2303 enclosing a spacebetween the first plate 2301 and the second plate 2302. According to anembodiment, in the side member 2303, a through hole array 2310 includinga plurality of through holes 2311, 2312, 2313, and 2314 exposed in afacing direction of the side member 2303 may be disposed. According toan embodiment, the through hole array 2310 may include a first throughhole 2311, a second through hole 2312, a third through hole 2313, and/ora fourth through hole 2314. According to an embodiment, the throughholes 2311, 2312, 2313, and 2314 of the through hole array 2310 may beseparated from each other by a partition wall 2320. According to anembodiment, the partition wall 2320 may be formed integrally with theside member 2303 or may include separate conductive members (e.g.,reflecting plates) disposed at the side member 2303.

Referring to FIGS. 24A and 24B, an electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 2300 of FIG. 23 ) may include a printed circuit board2400 disposed inside the electronic device 2300 so as to face thethrough hole array 2310 of the side member 2303. According to anembodiment, the printed circuit board 2400 may include a first surface2401 facing the side member 2303 inside the electronic device 2300 and asecond surface 2402 facing in a direction opposite to that of the firstsurface 2401. According to an embodiment, the printed circuit board 2400may include an array feeding structure FA including a first feedingstructure F1 disposed on the first surface 2401 and facing the firstthrough hole 2311, a second feeding structure F2 facing the secondthrough hole 2312, a third feeding structure F3 facing the third throughhole 2313, and a fourth feeding structure F4 facing the fourth throughhole 2314. As illustrated, the through hole array 2310 and the arrayfeeding structure FA are formed in a 1 x 4 arrangement structure, butthey are not limited thereto and may have various arrangement anddisposition structures.

According to various embodiments, the first feeding structure F1 mayinclude a first slot 2411 and a first conductive line 2413 facing thefirst through hole 2311 and disposed inside an area formed by theplurality of first conductive vias 2412, the second feeding structure F2may include a second slot 2421 and a second conductive line 2423 facingthe second through hole 2312 and disposed inside an area formed by theplurality of second conductive vias 2422, the third feeding structure F3may include a third slot 2431 and a third conductive line 2433 facingthe third through hole 2313 and disposed inside an area formed by aplurality of third conductive vias 2432, and the fourth feedingstructure F4 may include a fourth slot 2441 and a fourth conductive line2443 facing the fourth through hole 2314 and disposed inside an areaformed by a plurality of fourth conductive vias 2442. According to anembodiment, the printed circuit board may include a plurality of ports Pelectrically connected to a wireless communication circuit. According toan embodiment, the first conductive line 2413 may be electricallyconnected to at least one of the plurality of ports P through a firstelectrical path 2414. According to an embodiment, the second conductiveline 2423 may be electrically connected to at least one of the pluralityof ports P through a second electrical path 2424. According to anembodiment, the third conductive line 2433 may be electrically connectedto at least one of the plurality of ports P through a third electricalpath 2434. According to an embodiment, the fourth conductive line 2443may be electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of portsP through a fourth electrical path 2444.

FIGS. 25A and 25B illustrate a beam scanning performance and a radiationpattern according to phase differences of an antenna module formed withthe side member of FIG. 23 and the printed circuit board of FIGS. 24Aand 24B according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

In a peak gain, when a phase is input in a unit of 45° by applying 10dBi and 3 bit phase shifter, beam scanning (coverage of total 90°) of+/−45° is available and a scanning resolution may be adjusted accordingto the number of bits of the phase shifter and coverage may be extended.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a through hole disposedat a side member of an electronic device according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure.

An electronic device 2600 of FIG. 26 may be at least partially similarto the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1 and the electronic device 300 ofFIG. 3A or may further include other components of the electronicdevice.

Referring to FIG. 26 , the electronic device 2600 may include a firstplate 2601, a second plate 2602 facing in a direction opposite to thatof the first plate 2601, and a side member 2603 enclosing a spacebetween the second plate 2602 and the first plate 2601. According to anembodiment, the side member 2603 may include one through hole 2610exposed in a direction in which the side member 2603 faces. According toan embodiment, in the side member 2603, a printed circuit board (e.g.,the printed circuit board 2400 of FIG. 24 ) may be disposed such that anarray feeding structure (e.g., the array feeding structure FA of FIG. 24) having a plurality of feeding structures (e.g., the feeding structuresF1, F2, F3, and F4 of FIG. 24 ) of 1×4 arrangement of FIG. 24 faces inone through hole 2610 having no partition wall.

FIG. 27 illustrates a curved edge of a through hole disposed in a sidemember according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 27 , a side member 2710 may include a first surface2711 facing outside the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device300 of FIG. 3A) and a second surface 2712 facing in a direction oppositeto that of the first surface 2711. According to an embodiment, the sidemember 2710 may include a plurality of through holes 2720, 2720-1, and2720-2 disposed at regular intervals from the second surface 2712through the first surface 2711. Hereinafter, a configuration of onethrough hole 2720 is described, but the remaining through holes 2720-1and 2720-2 may also have substantially the same configuration. Accordingto an embodiment, when the first surface 2711 is viewed from theoutside, the through hole 2720 may include a first opening 2721 having afirst size and a second opening 2722 smaller than the first size.According to an embodiment, when viewed from above the second surface2712, left and right side surfaces and corners of the first opening 2721and the second opening 2722 may be formed to have a specific radius ofcurvature φ. In this case, impedance characteristics of the antennamodule may be changed by the through hole 2720 having a curved edgestructure, unlike a right edge structure.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating impedance characteristics of anantenna module operating through the through hole of FIG. 27 accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

With regard to FIG. 28 , it may be determined that a frequency band of athrough hole (e.g., the through hole 2720 of FIG. 27 ) having a curvededge was somewhat shifted to a low frequency band, compared with thethrough hole having a right edge.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, by using a portionof a metal member of an electronic device as a signal waveguidestructure of an antenna, beam coverage of the antenna can be secured ina desired direction; thus, an unnecessary mechanical design change of ametal member can be excluded.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 300 of FIG. 3A) may include a housing (e.g., thehousing 310 of FIG. 3A) including a first plate (e.g., the front plate302 of FIG. 3A), a second plate (e.g., the rear plate 311 of FIG. 3B)facing in a direction opposite to that of the first plate, and a sidemember (e.g., the side bezel structure 318 of FIG. 3A) enclosing a spacebetween the first plate and the second plate and connected to the secondplate or integrally formed with the second plate, and including aconductive material, wherein a first portion (e.g., the first portion P1of FIG. 8 ) of the side member (e.g., the side member 510 of FIG. 8 )may include a first surface (e.g., the first surface 511 of FIG. 8 )facing outside the housing, a second surface (e.g., the second surface512 of FIG. 8 ) facing in a direction opposite to that of the firstsurface, and a through hole (e.g., the through hole 513 of FIG. 8 )formed between the first surface and the second surface, wherein thethrough hole includes a first opening (e.g., the first opening 5131 ofFIG. 8 ) formed on the first surface and having a first size when viewedfrom the outside of the housing, a second opening (e.g., the secondopening 5132 of FIG. 8 ) formed on the second surface and having asecond size smaller than the first size when viewed from the outside ofthe housing and at least partially overlapped with the first opening,and a channel (e.g., the channel CH1 of FIG. 8 ) formed between thefirst opening and the second opening, wherein the housing includes afirst non-conductive material (e.g., first non-conductive material 514of FIG. 5A) inserted into the through hole; a display (e.g., the display301 of FIG. 3A) visible through at least a portion of the first plate,and a printed circuit board (e.g., the printed circuit board 520 of FIG.8 ) disposed inside the housing so as to face the first portion, whereinprinted circuit board includes a third surface (e.g., the third surface521 of FIG. 8 ) facing the second surface, a fourth surface (e.g., thefourth surface 522 of FIG. 8 ) facing in a direction opposite to that ofthe third surface, and a first conductive layer (e.g., the firstconductive layer 523 of FIG. 8 ) disposed closer to the third surfacerather than the fourth surface, wherein the first conductive layerincludes a first area (e.g., the first area A1 of FIG. 7A) including aslot (e.g., the slot 5231 of FIG. 8 ) facing the second opening and asecond area (e.g., the second area A2 of FIG. 7A) formed at a peripheryof the first area, a second conductive layer (e.g., the secondconductive layer 524 of FIG. 8 ) disposed closer to the fourth surfacerather than the first conductive layer, a conductive line (e.g., theconductive line 526 of FIG. 8 ) overlapped with at least a portion ofthe second area when viewed from above the first conductive layer anddisposed between the first conductive layer and the second conductivelayer; a printed circuit board configured to enclose at least a portionof the second area and including a plurality of conductive vias (e.g.,the plurality of conductive vias 525 of FIG. 8 ) configured toelectrically connect the first conductive layer and the secondconductive layer; and at least one wireless communication circuit (e.g.,the wireless communication circuit 590 of FIG. 8 ) electricallyconnected to the conductive line and configured to transmit and/orreceive a signal having a frequency between 3 GHz and 100 GHz.

According to various embodiments, the slot may be formed insubstantially the same size and shape as those of the second opening.

According to various embodiments, the wireless communication circuit maybe disposed at the fourth surface of the printed circuit board.

According to various embodiments, the slot may include a secondnon-conductive material (e.g., the non-conductive material 5232 of FIG.7A).

According to various embodiments, when viewed from above the firstconductive layer, the printed circuit board may further include aconductive pattern (e.g., the conductive pattern 5263 of FIG. 8 )overlapped with the second area and disposed between the firstconductive layer and the second conductive layer, and the conductivepattern may be electrically connected to the conductive line.

According to various embodiments, the conductive pattern may include aconductive pad of a predetermined size disposed inside the second areaat a position capacitively coupled to the first conductive layer in adirection parallel to the first surface when viewed from above the firstsurface.

According to various embodiments, the conductive line may beelectrically connected to a designated position of the second area.

According to various embodiments, the conductive line may beelectrically connected to at least a portion of the first conductivelayer.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device may furtherinclude at least one electronic component (e.g., the electroniccomponent 2050 of FIG. 20 ) disposed inside the space and a waveguidehole (e.g., the waveguide hole 2051 of FIG. 20 ) for connecting at leasta portion of the through hole and the electronic component (e.g., thethrough hole 2031 of FIG. 20 ), and the through hole may be used as anoperating channel of the electronic component together with thewaveguide hole.

According to various embodiments, the electronic component may include amicrophone device, a speaker device, a temperature sensor, a humiditysensor, or an odor sensor.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 300 of FIG. 3A) may include a housing (e.g., thehousing 310 of FIG. 3A) including a first plate (e.g., the front plate302 of FIG. 3A), a second plate (e.g., the rear plate 311 of FIG. 3B)facing in a direction opposite to that of the first plate, and a sidemember (e.g., the side bezel structure 318 of FIG. 3A) configured toenclose a space between the first plate and the second plate andconnected to the second plate or formed integrally with the second plateand including a conductive material, wherein a first portion (e.g., thefirst portion P1 of FIG. 8 ) of the side member (e.g., the side member510 of FIG. 8 ) includes a first surface (e.g., the first surface 511 ofFIG. 8 ) facing outside the housing, a second surface (e.g., the secondsurface 512 of FIG. 8 ) facing in a direction opposite to that of thefirst surface, and a through hole (e.g., the through hole 513 of FIG. 8) formed between the first surface and the second surface, wherein thethrough hole includes a first opening (e.g., the first opening 5131 ofFIG. 8 ) formed on the second surface and having a first size whenviewed from the outside of the housing, a second opening (e.g., thesecond opening 5132 of FIG. 8 ) formed on the second surface, having asecond size smaller than the first size when viewed from the outside ofthe housing, and at least partially overlapped with the first opening,and a channel (e.g., the channel CH1 of FIG. 8 ) formed between thefirst opening and the second opening, wherein the housing includes afirst non-conductive material (e.g., the first non-conductive material514 of FIG. 5A) inserted into the through hole; a display (e.g., thedisplay 301 of FIG. 3A) visible through at least a portion of the firstplate, a structure (e.g., the printed circuit board 520 of FIG. 8 )disposed inside the housing so as to face the first portion, wherein thestructure includes a first area (e.g., the first area A1 of FIG. 8 )disposed to face the second opening, a second area (e.g., the secondarea A2 of FIG. 8 ) including a plurality of conductive vias (e.g., theplurality of conductive vias 525 of FIG. 8 ) formed at a periphery ofthe first area, and a conductive line (e.g., the conductive line 526 ofFIG. 8 ) disposed in the second area; and at least one wirelesscommunication circuit (e.g., the wireless communication circuit 590 ofFIG. 8 ) electrically connected to the conductive line and configured totransmit and/or receive a signal having a frequency between 3 GHz and100 GHz.

According to various embodiments, the structure may include a printedcircuit board (e.g., the printed circuit board 520 of FIG. 8 ), whereinthe printed circuit board may include a third surface (e.g., the thirdsurface 521 of FIG. 8 ) facing the second surface, a fourth surface(e.g., the fourth surface 522 of FIG. 8 ) facing in a direction oppositeto that of the third surface, a first conductive layer (e.g., the firstconductive layer 523 of FIG. 8 ) disposed closer to the third surfacerather than the fourth surface, and a second conductive layer (e.g., thesecond conductive layer 524 of FIG. 8 ) disposed closer to the fourthsurface rather than the first conductive layer.

According to various embodiments, the printed circuit board may includea slot (e.g., the slot 5231 of FIG. 7A) at least partially overlappedwith the second opening when viewed from above the first surface andformed through the first conductive layer.

According to various embodiments, the slot may be formed insubstantially the same size and shape as those of the second opening.

According to various embodiments, the plurality of conductive vias mayenclose at least a portion at a periphery of the slot and electricallyconnect the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer, whenviewed from above the first surface.

According to various embodiments, the conductive line may be disposedbetween the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer inthe second area.

According to various embodiments, the wireless communication circuit maybe disposed on a fourth surface of the printed circuit board.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 300 of FIG. 3A) may include a housing (e.g., thehousing 310 of FIG. 3A) including a first plate (e.g., the front plate302 of FIG. 3A), a second plate (e.g., the rear plate 311 of FIG. 3B)facing in a direction opposite to that of the first plate, and a sidemember (e.g., the side bezel structure 318 of FIG. 3A) enclosing a spacebetween the first plate and the second plate and connected to the secondplate or integrally formed with the second plate and including aconductive material, wherein a first portion (e.g., the first portion P2of FIG. 13A) of the side member (e.g., the side member 510 of FIG. 15 )includes a first surface (e.g., the first surface 511 of FIG. 15 )facing outside the housing, a second surface (e.g., the second surface512 of FIG. 15 ) facing in a direction opposite to that of the firstsurface, and a through hole (e.g., the through hole 513 of FIG. 15 )formed between the first surface and the second surface, wherein thethrough hole includes a first opening (e.g., the first opening 5131 ofFIG. 15 ) formed on the first surface and having a first size whenviewed from the outside of the housing, a second opening (e.g., thesecond opening 5132 of FIG. 15 ) formed on the second surface, having asecond size smaller than the first size when viewed from the outside ofthe housing, and at least partially overlapped with the first opening,and a channel (e.g., the channel CH2 of FIG. 15 ) formed between thefirst opening and the second opening, wherein the housing includes afirst non-conductive material (e.g., the first non-conductive material514 of FIG. 13A) inserted into the through hole; a display (the display301 of FIG. 3A) visible through at least a portion of the first plate,and a printed circuit board (e.g., the printed circuit board 530 of FIG.15 ) disposed inside the housing so as to face the first portion,wherein the printed circuit board includes a third surface (e.g., thefirst substrate surface 5301 of FIG. 15 ) facing in the same directionas that of the first plate, a fourth surface (e.g., the second substratesurface 5302 of FIG. 15 ) facing in a direction opposite to that of thethird surface, a substrate side surface (e.g., the substrate sidesurface 531 of FIG. 15 ) configured to enclose a space between the thirdsurface and the fourth surface and including a first area (e.g., thefirst area A1 of FIG. 14 ) facing the second opening, a first conductivelayer (e.g., the conductive layer 533 of FIG. 15 ) disposed closer tothe third surface rather than the fourth surface and including a secondarea (e.g., the second area A2 of FIG. 14 ) formed at the third surfaceadjacent to the substrate side surface, a second conductive layer (e.g.,the second conductive layer 534 of FIG. 15 ) disposed closer to thefourth surface rather than the first conductive layer, a conductive line(e.g., the conductive line 536 of FIG. 15 ) overlapped with at least aportion of the second area and disposed between the first conductivelayer and the second conductive layer, when viewed from above the firstconductive layer, wherein the printed circuit board is configured toenclose at least a portion of the second area and includes a pluralityof conductive vias (e.g., a plurality of conductive vias 535 of FIG. 15) configured to electrically connect the first conductive layer and thesecond conductive layer; and at least one wireless communication circuit(e.g., the wireless communication circuit 590 of FIG. 15 ) electricallyconnected to the conductive line and configured to transmit and/orreceive a signal having a frequency between 3 GHz and 100 GHz.

According to various embodiments, the first area may be formed insubstantially the same size and shape as those of the second opening.

According to various embodiments, an operating frequency band and/or anoperating frequency bandwidth may be determined according to atransition length (e.g., the transition length L of FIG. 14 ) betweenthe first area and the plurality of conductive vias.

While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference tovarious embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of thedisclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable communication device comprising: adisplay; a housing accommodating the display, the housing comprising aside member, the side member comprising a conductive portion and anon-conductive portion, the conductive portion having an opening formedtherein, the non-conductive portion being at least partially disposed inthe opening, the opening being formed from an outer surface to an innersurface of the conductive portion such that, when viewed in a firstdirection perpendicular to the display, a first opening portionextending from the outer surface has a first length in a seconddirection, the second direction corresponding to an extending directionof a length of the conductive portion, and a second opening portionextending from and being connected to the first opening portion has asecond length in the second direction smaller than the first length; anantenna circuitry disposed parallel to the side member, the antennacircuitry comprising: a printed circuit board comprising a first layerfacing the side member and a second layer facing a direction opposite tothat of the first layer, a first portion disposed at the printed circuitboard, the first portion including a radiating element facing the secondopening portion and being disposed between the first layer and thesecond layer, the radiating element being connected to a feeding linethrough a conductive line extended in a direction perpendicular to eachof the feeding line and the radiating element, and a second portionadjacent to the first portion at the printed circuit board and facing apart of the conductive portion, the second portion including a pluralityof conductive vias formed therein, at least one via of the plurality ofconductive vias being electrically connected to a ground layer includedin the printed circuit board; and a communication circuit electricallyconnected to the antenna circuitry.
 2. The portable communication deviceof claim 1, wherein a periphery of the opening forms a stepped shapewhen viewed in a direction perpendicular to a lower side or an upperside of the side member.
 3. The portable communication device of claim1, wherein an outer surface of the non-conductive portion in the openingis substantially planar.
 4. The portable communication device of claim1, further comprising: a supporting structure at least partiallysurrounding the antenna circuitry.
 5. The portable communication deviceof claim 4, wherein an antenna structure for the antenna circuitry is atleast partially formed by combining the side member and at least part ofthe supporting structure.
 6. The portable communication device of claim1, wherein the non-conductive portion comprises a non-conductivematerial, and wherein the non-conductive material comprises a dielectricmaterial.
 7. The portable communication device of claim 1, wherein theplurality of conductive vias are disposed at regular intervals in theprinted circuit board.
 8. A portable communication device comprising: anantenna circuitry; a communication circuit electrically connected to theantenna circuitry; and a housing comprising a side member forming a sidesurface of the portable communication device, the side member comprisinga conductive portion and a non-conductive portion, the conductiveportion including an opening formed between an inner surface and anouter surface of the conductive portion such that a periphery of theopening has an uneven shape, the non-conductive portion being at leastpartially located in the opening, the opening comprising: a first areaformed on the outer surface and having a first size when viewed in adirection perpendicular to the outer surface of the conductive portion,and a second area formed at least partially between the antennacircuitry and the outer surface and having a second size smaller thanthe first size when viewed in the direction perpendicular to the outersurface of the conductive portion, the first area extending toward thesecond area in a stepped shape while reducing a width of the opening,wherein the antenna circuitry is parallel to the side member andconfigured to radiate a signal to an outside of the housing through theopening, the antenna circuitry comprising: a printed circuit boardcomprising a first surface facing the side member and a second surfacefacing a direction opposite to that of the first surface, a firstportion disposed at the printed circuit board, the first portionincluding a radiating element facing the second area of the opening, theradiating element being connected to a feeding line through a conductiveline extended in a direction perpendicular to each of the feeding lineand the radiating element, a second portion adjacent to the firstportion at the printed circuit board and facing a part of the conductiveportion surrounding the second area of the opening, the second portionincluding a plurality of conductive vias formed therein, a firstconductive layer disposed on a first layer of the printed circuit board,and a second conductive layer disposed on a second layer between thefirst layer and the second surface.
 9. The portable communication deviceof claim 8, wherein the periphery of the opening forms a stepped shapewhen viewed in a direction perpendicular to a lower side or an upperside of the side member.
 10. The portable communication device of claim8, wherein an outer surface of the non-conductive portion in the openingis substantially planar.
 11. The portable communication device of claim8, further comprising: a supporting structure at least partiallysurrounding the antenna circuitry.
 12. The portable communication deviceof claim 11, wherein an antenna structure for the antenna circuitry isat least partially formed by combining the side member and at least partof the supporting structure.
 13. The portable communication device ofclaim 8, wherein the non-conductive portion comprises a non-conductivematerial, and wherein the non-conductive material comprises a dielectricmaterial.
 14. The portable communication device of claim 8, wherein theplurality of conductive vias are disposed at regular intervals in theprinted circuit board.
 15. A portable communication device comprising: ahousing comprising a side member forming a side surface of the portablecommunication device, the side member comprising: a conductive memberincluding an opening formed therein such that a first area of theopening corresponding to an outer surface of the side member has a firstsize, a second area of the opening between the first area and an innersurface of the side member has a second size smaller than the firstsize, and a periphery of the opening is uneven between the first areaand the second area when viewed in a direction perpendicular to a lowerside or an upper side of the side member, the first area extendingtoward the second area in a stepped shape while reducing a width of theopening, and a non-conductive member formed in at least part of theopening; an antenna circuitry located parallel to the side member andconfigured to radiate a signal to an outside of the housing through theopening, the antenna circuitry comprising: a printed circuit boardcomprising a first surface facing the side member and a second surfacefacing a direction opposite to that of the first surface, a firstportion disposed at the printed circuit board, the first portionincluding a radiating element facing the second area of the opening, theradiating element being connected to a feeding line through a conductiveline extended in a direction perpendicular to each of the feeding lineand the radiating element, a second portion adjacent to the firstportion at the printed circuit board and facing a part of the conductivemember surrounding the second area of the opening, the second portionincluding a plurality of conductive vias formed therein, a firstconductive layer disposed on a first layer of the printed circuit board,and a second conductive layer disposed on a second layer between thefirst layer and the second surface; and a communication circuitelectrically connected to the antenna circuitry.
 16. The portablecommunication device of claim 15, wherein the periphery of the openingforms a stepped shape when viewed in the direction perpendicular to thelower side or the upper side of the side member.
 17. The portablecommunication device of claim 15, wherein an outer surface of thenon-conductive member in the opening is substantially planar.
 18. Theportable communication device of claim 15, further comprising: asupporting structure at least partially surrounding the antennacircuitry.
 19. The portable communication device of claim 18, wherein anantenna structure for the antenna circuitry is at least partially formedby combining the side member and at least part of the supportingstructure.
 20. A portable communication device comprising: a display; ahousing accommodating the display, the housing comprising a side member,the side member comprising a conductive portion and a non-conductiveportion, the conductive portion having an opening formed therein, thenon-conductive portion being at least partially disposed in the opening,the opening being formed from an inner surface of the conductive portionto an outer surface of the conductive portion such that, when viewed ina first direction perpendicular to the display, a first opening portionadjacent to the outer surface has a first length in a second directioncorresponding to an extending direction of a length of the conductiveportion, a second opening portion adjacent to the inner surface has asecond length smaller than the first length in the second direction, anda stepped opening portion reducing a width of the opening is disposedbetween the first opening portion and the second opening portion; anantenna circuitry disposed parallel with the side member and configuredto radiate a signal to an outside of the housing through thenon-conductive portion disposed in the opening, the antenna circuitrycomprising: a printed circuit board comprising a first surface facingthe side member and a second surface facing a direction opposite to thatof the first surface, a radiating element disposed at the printedcircuit board, the radiating element facing the second opening portion,the radiating element being connected to a feeding line through aconductive line extended in a direction perpendicular to each of thefeeding line and the radiating element, a plurality of conductive viasadjacent to the radiating element at the printed circuit board andfacing a part of the conductive portion surrounding the second openingportion, a first conductive layer disposed on a first layer of theprinted circuit board, and a second conductive layer disposed on asecond layer between the first layer and the second surface; and acommunication circuit electrically connected to the antenna circuitry.